The Church and Democracy in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis examining the Church's role in promoting or hindering democratic processes in Nigeria

Democratic governance in Nigeria remains threatened by the increasing level of interaction of religious institutions and politics, this raises concerns as to whether its participation enhances or diminishes consolidation. This paper has critically analyzed the contribution of the Church towards enhancing or stifling the democratic processes in Nigeria. The paper has examined the history of the development of democracy in Nigeria since the pre-colonial rule to the colonial rule, post-independent experimentation, military rule, and the fourth republic. Through a qualitative method of analysis, the study evaluated the role of the Church in democracy, such as campaigning on human rights, civic education, monitoring election, peacebuilding, anti-corruption campaign and social justice and good governance. The paper also found aspects that the Church has stifled democratic consolidation to include partisan political participation, ethno-religious polarization, prosperity preaching that discourages civic participation, political endorsements, and internalized authoritarian systems. The case studies in history such as the role of the Church during military rule, the struggle of June 12 and others have brought to light the role of the Church in determining the political results. The results also indicated that there were hurdles in the form of political pressure, denominational divisions, reliance on political actors through finance, religious extremism, and lack of political education. This research found that the Church has two roles in the democracy of Nigeria where it is both a facilitator and a hindrance. It advised the Church to be politically neutral, enhance civic education and issue-based participation to facilitate democratic consolidation.