Religious Diversity and Interfaith Relations in Abuja: Contact, Trust, Tolerance and Social Integration

Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, brings Christians, Muslims and adherents of traditional religions into daily contact, yet little systematic evidence exists on how this diversity translates into social integration. This study examines how interfaith contact, interreligious trust and religious tolerance shape social integration in Abuja. It uses a convergent mixed-methods design that combines a survey of 400 residents in six districts, analysed by multiple regression, with 25 in-depth interviews with religious leaders and community members, analysed thematically. Contact (β = 0.26), trust (β = 0.32) and tolerance (β = 0.18) all significantly predict social integration and together explain 42 per cent of its variance, with trust the strongest predictor. Mean tolerance exceeds mean trust, indicating that residents accept religious others more readily than they trust them. The interviews show that markets, friendships, joint community projects and religious leaders sustain cooperation, while politicians’ use of religion during elections creates tension. The findings extend contact and social capital theory to an African capital city and support institutionalised interfaith dialogue, trust-building in shared spaces and stronger enforcement against divisive religious campaigning.