Religious Tolerance: A Panacea for Social Development in Nigeria

Man is a social being whose inter and intra-personal existence cannot be extricated from cohabiting with others within the society in which he finds himself. Man’s existence starts from fostering mutual relations with members of his immediate family and groups outside his family to members of the larger society/nation he identifies with as a citizen. Therefore, his belief in any creed or faith (religion) is a sign that man’s social contact within society reflects his exemplification of God, who is a just being. This paper adopted two methodological approaches- The functionalist approach emphasizes the contributions made by each component to the total and the interdependence between society’s constituent parts. The research attested that religion is often, and rightly, seen as a semi-autonomous social space that resembles others; it is also closely related to the economic structure of society. The second approach is a sociology of religion approach, which discusses religion within the framework of a particular people group as a human and cultural phenomenon. This article mainly focused on promoting peace in Nigeria, even during the building or consolidating of democratic institutions. In theoretical explanation, therefore, this paper expounds on how it makes a big difference in a society of peace and tranquillity and the workings of the democratic institutional framework. It is hoped that the leadership of our dear nation will be directed towards attaining peace and security across diverse Nigerian ethnic races or groups in such a way that religious tolerance will not breed hatred and enmity whatsoever to all citizens. Thus, development in whatever ramification is yearned for in this democratic dispensation would not be an illusion or wishful expectation but requires acceptance of everyone from all climes of life, race, creed, or ethnicity. Keywords: Peace, Harmony, Inter-religious Relationships, Co-existence, State and Development