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PNEUMA 36 (2014) 81–106
Salt and Light or Salt and Pepper*
Views on Ethno-Religious Violence and
Peace among Pentecostals in Nigeria
Danny McCain*
Nigeria Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Centre, University of Jos
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Musa Gaiya
Nigeria Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Centre, University of Jos
Katrina A. Korb
Nigeria Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Centre, University of Jos
Abstract
Ethno-religious violence has plagued northern Nigeria in the last thirty years and has specifically affected Plateau State during the last decade. This article examines the attitudes and responses of pentecostal leaders in Plateau State toward violence and peace. Their attitudes are also compared to those of mainline Christian leaders in northern Nigeria and pentecostal leaders in southern Nigeria, a region that has not been affected by ethno-religious violence. The methods used included observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The research found that pentecostal leaders have a more positive attitude toward Muslims than do mainline leaders overall. There was no difference between pentecostal and mainline leaders in attitudes toward violence. However, there is a wider difference in attitudes toward violence and peace among Pentecostals than among mainline Protestants. Furthermore, pentecostal leaders in Plateau State demonstrated a greater involvement in peace-making initiatives than mainline leaders.
* The authors would like to thank Dr. Jordan Rengshwat and the helpful ushers and leaders at
the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) meetings in Plateau and the pastors’ seminar in
Lagos for assisting us in the data collection process. We would also like to thank the reviewers
for their invaluable comments in strengthening the quality of this paper.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/15700747-03601007
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Keywords
ethno-religious violence – peace – Nigerian Pentecostalism
Introduction
We have hitherto exercised restraint in our public statements on these matters. However, we cannot continue to do so indefinitely, and are deter- mined that in the year 2012, if these unprovoked attacks continue, and Christians remain unprotected by the security agencies, then we will have no choice but to defend our lives and property and take our own steps to ensure our safety and security.
This statement was made on December 28, 2011 by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, who was at that time the head of both the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the overall coalition of Christians in Nigeria, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). It was cosigned by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God; Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Overseer of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission; Bishop David Oyedepo, Founder and Over- seer of Winners Chapel; Rev. Felix Omobude; Evangelist Uma Ukpai; Rev. (Mrs) Mercy Ezekiel; and Pastor Wale Adefarasin, the General Secretary of the PFN.1 These names represent eight of the most influential and well-known pente- costal leaders in Nigeria. In a similar statement, Pastor Oritsejafor said that the attacks during the last two years by the Islamic extremist group popularly known as Boko Haram (meaning “Western education is forbidden”), were con- sidered a “declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria as an entity,” and he further declared that “Christians should protect themselves … in any way they can.”2
Although these statements do not specifically call for violence, the threat by these pentecostal leaders to “take our own steps to ensure our safety and secu- rity” was interpreted by the Vanguard Newspaper journalists as a statement of aggression. The title of the article, “Boko Haram Attacks—Adeboye, Oritsejafor,
1 Sam Eyoboka and Daniel Idonor, “Boko Haram Attacks—Adeboye, Oritsejafor, Oyedepo
Spit Fire,” Vanguard Newspaper, December 28, 2011, http://allafrica.com/stories/201112280755
.html.
2 David Smith, “Church bombings are declaration of war, say Nigerian Christians,” The Guar-
dian, December 29, 2011, http://guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/29/church-bombings-
nigerian-christians.
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Oyedepo Spit Fire,” identifies the three most prominent pentecostal leaders in Nigeria as the ones who were ready to “spit fire” against their enemies.
There are other indications that Nigerian Pentecostals may be particularly inclined to violence. A well-known pentecostal leader was killed in 2008 while leading a group of Christian youth whom he had mobilized to battle Mus- lims during a crisis in northern Nigeria. Pentecostal pastors have used strong imprecatory language and other battle terminology in their prayer meetings and exhortations about the ongoing conflict in Jos. For example, in the opening scripture prayer for a city-wide prayer event related to the violence, a Pente- costal said:
O God, do not keep silent. … See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people. … Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground.3
Psalm 83:1–3; 9–10
Such declarations and activities have given Nigerian Pentecostals an image of being more prone to violence than other Nigerian Christians. Because Pente- costals tend to be “quite aggressive in their proselytizing,”4 they are at times identified as fundamentalists5 and therefore more likely to engage in violence. A journalist with the Daily Trust, a Nigerian newspaper that generally reflects a northern Nigerian and Muslim perspective, wrote that “at times of crises in the past, some of the most unhelpful comments have issued from Pentecostal pulpits.”6
3 Plateau Christian Prayer Assembly, March 21, 2010.
4 “Nigeria Christian /Muslim Conflict,” http://globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/
nigeria-1.htm; See also “Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict; Africa Report N 168—
20 December 2010,” http://crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/west-africa/nigeria/168
%20Northern%20Nigeria%20-%20Background%20to%20Conflict.ashx. This report suggests
that newer pentecostal churches, such as the Deeper Life Bible Church, Redeemed Chris-
tian Church of God, and Living Faith Church (also known as Winners’ Chapel), all planted
branches of their denominations in the north, where traditional missionaries had been
banned by the colonial government. This has especially created tensions between Pente-
costals and Muslims.
5 For a typical example, see Walter Ihejirika, “Media and Fundamentalism in Nigeria,” World
Association for Christian Communication website, http://mpac-ng.org/specialtopic/
515-media-and-fundamentalism-in-nigeria.html.
6 Adamu Adamu, “CAN and the Book of John,”The Daily Trust, July 16, 2010. The full text of the
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Is this an accurate perception? Are Pentecostals more likely to respond to violence with violence? The purpose of this article is to examine the typical response of pentecostal leaders to violent conflict, predominantly with Mus- lims, in northern Nigeria. The article focuses on church leaders because they shape ordinary people’s opinions and are generally the ones called upon by the government to discuss strategies for fostering peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians.
Pentecostalism in Nigeria
The first example of what might be considered Pentecostalism in Nigeria was espoused by an Anglican lay reader from southeastern Nigeria named Garrick Sokari Daketima Braide in 1915. He rose to fame through his acclaimed powers of healing through prayers.7 A short time later a similar movement sponta- neously arose in southwestern Nigeria that has often been referred to as the Aladura (a Yoruba word meaning “owners of prayer”) movement. This move- ment also stressed prayer for healing.8 The best-known leader in this move- ment was Joseph Babalola, who also had an Anglican background. He spread the message of supernatural healing through prayer and the use of holy water all over southwestern and southeastern Nigeria.9
The second wave of Pentecostalism grew out of the first wave in the 1930s when some who had already experienced pentecostal-type phenomenon in- vited Pentecostals from outside Nigeria to assist them. For example, the Assem- blies of God entered Nigeria at the invitation of five young Nigerian men who had been expelled from a Holiness group in Eastern Nigeria, Faith Taberna- cle Congregation, for speaking in tongues.10 Other invited groups in the 1950s included the Foursquare Gospel Church and the Apostolic Faith, both from
article can be found at http://nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/guest-articles/can
-and-the-book-of-john.html.
7 Frieder Ludwig, “Elijah II: Radicalisation and Consolidation of the Garrick Braide Move-
ment 1915–1918,” Journal of Religion in Africa 23, no. 4 (1993): 296.
8 Alan H. Anderson, “The Emergence of a Multidimensional Global Missionary Movement,”
in Spirit and Power: The Growth and Global Impact of Pentecostalism, ed. Donald E. Miller,
Kimon H. Sargeant, and Richard Flory (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 36. 9 For additional information about Joseph Babalola, see Ogbu Kalu, African Pentecostalism:
An Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 41. In this book Kalu has an
excellent summary of most of the significant movements of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. 10 Kalu, African Pentecostalism, 42.
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the USA, as well as the Apostolic Church from the UK, which was invited by Babalola’s Aladura group.11
In the early 1970s, a new wave of pentecostal Christianity swept across the Nigerian tertiary institutions. Several charismatic groups emerged, including Christian Union, Evangelical Christian Union, Nigerian Fellowship of Evangel- ical Students, and Fellowship of Christian Students. The main concern of these groups was not only to entrench “born-again” Christianity on campuses but also, as Matthews Ojo puts it, to convert the heathen outside the university campus and to deliver people who were under bondage of “evil spirits, witches, forces of darkness, principalities, enemies, bad luck, and repeated failures.”12
Christian-Muslim Violence in Northern Nigeria
One group that took the newer charismatic version of Christianity to north- ern Nigeria was Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO was founded in 1975 by graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions serving in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).13 CAPRO was based in the premier university in northern Nige- ria, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Its stated aim was to disarm the demonic spirit of Islam through prayer and fasting in order to convert Muslims to Chris- tianity. A pentecostal leader in Jos affirmed the same thought when he said, “Islam is a very occultic [sic] religion.”14
This thinking about Islam motivated Christian students in the College of Education Kafanchan (Kaduna State) to organize a Christian outreach in 1987 to rid the campus of non-Christian religions. The poster at the gate of the campus read, “Welcome to Jesus Campus.” The preacher at this crusade was
11 See ibid., 88–94, and Matthews A. Ojo, The End-Time Army: Charismatic Movements in
Modern Nigeria (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2006), 34. This new expression of Chris-
tianity has become well established and has spread from its southern base to northern
Nigeria. Like the mission churches (such as Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic, Methodist,
and Baptist) that moved from the south to the north with the extension of the railway lines
in 1911, this indigenized Christianity was seen by northerners as a southern product. Most
members of these Pentecostal churches were southerners.
12 Matthews A. Ojo, “The Charismatic Movement in Nigeria Today,”International Bulletin of
Missionary Research19, no. 3 (1995): 116.
13 Each university graduate in Nigeria is required to serve one year after graduation with the
National Youth Service Corp (NYSC). As a general rule, NYSC members serve in a different
part of the country from where they live. Thus, southerners often serve in the north and
vice versa.
14 Anonymous PFN Leader # 1, interview by Musa Gaiya, January 11, 2012.
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a Muslim convert who quoted profusely from the Qurʾan and the Bible to prove that Christianity was the right way to God. A violent confrontation between Muslim and Christian students ensued and quickly spread to the rest of the state. This incident was the first Christian-Muslim riot in northern Nigeria.
During the next few years, tension slowly mounted in northern Nigeria over a number of issues. For example, in 1991 a crisis in Kano was sparked by an attempt by the pentecostal evangelist Reinhard Bonnke to hold an evangelistic crusade in the city. In the publicity leading up to the crusade, Kano city was declared “conquered for Jesus,” as the big posters displayed in strategic places in Kano read. The theme of Bonnke’s crusade in Africa was “tearing down the strongholds of Islam.”15 A few months later, riots occurred in Zango Kataf in southern Kaduna between Hausa settlers and local indigenes over a market issue. The attempt to introduce Shariʾah in Kaduna State led, in February 2000, to one of Nigeria’s bloodiest conflicts. Tension remained, and another serious conflict flared up in Kaduna when an attempt was made to sponsor the Miss World beauty pageant in Abuja in November 2002. Later, reactions to the Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad led to riots in several places across northern Nigeria, killing at least one hundred people—the largest number of victims from these cartoon riots around the world.16 To summarize, these conflicts have been sparked by ethnic, political, economic, and religious issues, as well as, even, international events.
The modern riots in Jos, Plateau State began as ethnic and political dis- agreements but later became more religious in nature.17 A key issue in these conflicts has been the settler-indigene problem, which affects the rights of the non-indigenes to get jobs and scholarships as well as the ability to participate in local politics and receive certain political appointments.18 The crises in Jos include a small conflict in 1994 and major confrontations in 2001 and 2008, all of
15 Ruth Marshall, Political Spiritualities: The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria (Chicago: Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, 2009), 228.
16 Lydia Polgreen, “Nigeria Counts over 100 Deaths in Danish Caricatures”New York Times,
February 24, 2006. Accessible at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E5
DF1F3EF937A15751C0A9609C8B63.
17 For an excellent summary of the various Jos crises, see Philip Ostien, “Jonah Jang and
the Jasawa: Ethno-religious conflict in Jos, Nigeria,” Muslim-Christian Relations in Africa
(2009). Retrieved from sharia-in-africa.net/pages/publications.php.
18 An “indigene” is considered to be a person whose ancestors lived in and “owned” a
particular geographical area. A “settler” is one from an ethnic group whose ancestors came
from a different area. The indigene-settler issue has been one of the most contentious
political issues in Jos.
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which were instigated by political issues. Later conflicts, including those in Jan- uary and December 2010 as well as periodic violence in 2011, have largely been retaliatory in nature and have taken on a more distinctive religious character.
Nigerian Pentecostal Christian and Muslim Relations
Pentecostal Christian/Muslim relations in Nigeria have attracted the attention of scholars. Most scholars see the relationship from a conflict and competition perspective. Matthews Ojo,19 for instance, sees it as a contest of space in which not only are Muslims and Pentecostals at each others’ throats, but also Muslims seek toconquer Nigeriaand Christians seek toevangelize the whole of northern Nigeria. Cyril Imo20 looks at the attitude of evangelical Christians toward the reintroduction of extreme Shariʾah laws in northern Nigeria and argues that the implementation of the Shariʾah made most of northern Nigeria a war zone between Muslims and Christians. Evangelical Christians who hitherto would interpret the Bible literally have had to reinterpret Matthew 5:38–47 in an unconventional manner to enable them to defend themselves against “Muslim aggression.”21
Asonzeh Ukah22 studied the attitude of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (or RCCG, one of Nigeria’s mega-denominations) toward Muslims. In sermons delivered by pastors of RCCG, Islam is demonized, which justifies aggressive evangelism in order to rid the world of a major satanic influence. The church, however, does not advocate violent attacks on Muslims. Ukah concludesthatRCCGbelievesthat“moreindirectbutconstructiveengagement with Islam is more profitable than an all-out confrontation in the name of evangelism.”23
The pentecostal and charismatic movements in Nigeria have been quite pro- lific in their production of literature. There are books on signs and wonders, evangelism, prosperity, success, discipleship, leadership, and a host of other
19 Matthews A. Ojo, “Pentecostal Movements, Islam and the Contest for Public Space in
Northern Nigeria,”Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations18 no. 2 (2007): 175–188. 20 Cyril Imo, “Evangelicals, Muslims, and Democracy: With Particular Reference to the Decla-
ration of Shariʾa in Northern Nigeria,” in Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Africa,
ed. Terence O. Ranger (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 37–66.
21 Imo, “Evangelicals, Muslims, and Democracy,” 61.
22 Asonzeh Ukah, A New Paradigm of Pentecostal Power (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press,
2008).
23 Ibid., 291.
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topics. To date, however, Nigerian Pentecostals have not produced literature about violence or peace. In a review of 213 books written by Nigerian pente- costal writers, not a single book addressed the issue of the Christian’s response to ethno-religious violence.24
A chapter in Sunday Adelaja’s bookThe Restorers of the Earth25 came closest to addressing the issue of violence and peace in his description of the Chris- tian’s attitude toward violence. Adelaja was addressing not direct violence, however, but the persecution from individuals who are attempting to prevent one from fulfilling one’s destiny. In addition, Dr. D.K. Olukoya, the founder and General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church based in Lagos, frequently mentions “enemies” in his many books. A typical example is in Pray Your Way to Breakthrough.26 The table of contents is laden with vio- lent language, including “Kill Their Prophets,” “Slay Their Giants,” “Death to the Pharaohs and Herods,” “Break Down the Stronghold of the Enemy,” and “Vio- lent Prayers against Stubborn Problems and Foundational Enemies.” However, these passages are almost always describing “spiritual enemies” and fighting “spiritual” battles. Olukoya’s books do not address the kinds of physical conflict and violence that the church in northern Nigeria has experienced in the last thirty-five years.27
John Paden, in a slim book, has rightly argued that most Nigerian Muslims are peaceful people and that the British tried to foster a spirit of cooperation between Muslims and Christians for a united nation before independence.28 A more interesting treatment of the relations between pentecostal Christians
24 The survey was conducted by Danny McCain in the Nigeria Centre for Pentecostal and
Charismatic Studies collection of books written by Nigerian Pentecostals.
25 Sunday Adelaja,The Restorers of the Earth(Kyiv, Ukraine: Favor House, 2009), 68–76. 26 D.K. Olukoya, Pray Your Way to Breakthrough (Lagos: Mountain of Fire and Miracles
Ministries, 1996), vii–xi.
27 Two books have been written by non-Pentecostals that specifically address the Jos Crisis
from a Christian perspective. The first is Peter Kadala, Turn the Other Cheek: A Christian
Dilemma(Bukuru, Nigeria: Africa Christian Textbooks, 2009). This book was written by an
evangelical lecturer from the Theological College of Northern Nigeria and takes a positive
approach to reconciliation. The second book is by Ruth Beattie, My Brother’s Keeper:
Stories of Grace from the Jos Plateau (Bukuru, Nigeria: Africa Christian Textbooks, 2010),
and tells the stories of Muslims and Christians who protected each other during various
crises. A third book, Fighting for Peace(Jos, Nigeria: Fab Educational Books, 2011), written
by an Assemblies of God pastor, Rev. Yakubu Pam, and Dr. Katrina Korb, tells the stories
of both Christians and Muslims who have prevented violence.
28 John N. Paden, Faith and Politics in Nigeria: Nigeria as a Pivotal State in the Muslim World
(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2008) 21–23.
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and Muslims is the work of Ruth Marshall.29 Going beyond the demonization of Islam and competition and conflict analysis, Marshall has drawn attention to the Pentecostalization of Islam in Nigeria. The use of a pentecostal style of public display by Yoruba Muslims is interesting; posters advertising Muslim meetings, such as “come and meet Allah,” are common.30 Julius Adekoya has studied the evolution of Jamʾiatu Nasrul Lahi al-ftihi (a.k.a NASFAT), a Pente- costalized Yoruba Muslim group that is gaining national adherence.31 Adekoya reports that NASFAT has purchased a one hundred-acre land on the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway as its fellowship camp, following the example of the Deeper Life Bible Church and the Redeemed Christian Church of God. One of NAS- FAT’s leaders is Alhaji Akinbile, who founded the Caring and Sharing Family. Here members engage in reading of the Qurʾan, learning about and practic- ing faith, prayers, and constant fasting. Similar to pentecostal Christians, the group uses anointing oil, holy water, handkerchief, andtasbih(Muslim rosary) for divine healing. It has a choir adorned with specially made robes and uses musicalinstrumentssuchasorgans,pianos,guitars,anddrums.Oneofitssongs is an adapted pentecostal chorus:
My comforter, Allah is my comforter (3x)
Allah is my comforter
I am not alone.32
Marshall also noted that the Gumi’s tafsir (interpretation of the Qurʾan) was carried out in a fashionsimilar to a pentecostal Christian Bible study.33 The preaching (daʾwa) of yanʾIzala (in Arabic Jamaʾatu Izalat al-Bidʾa wa Iqamat al-sunna, a group influenced by Gumi) followed pentecostal/evangelical styles.
Research needs to explore these areas of cooperation, collaboration, and imitation between Muslims and Pentecostals in Nigeria. We have observed that the positive side of the relations between the two major world religions is not being given the same attention by scholars as conflict and violence.
29 Ruth Marshall, Political Spiritualities: The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria (Chicago: Chi-
cago University Press, 2009).
30 Ibid., 221.
31 Julius Adekoya, “Islamic Fundamentalism in Yorubaland and the Impact of the Explosion
of Pentecostalism,” in Tradition and Compromises: Essays on the Challenge of Pentecostal-
ism, ed. Anthony Akinwake and Joseph Kenny (Ibadan: The Michael J. Dempsey Centre
for Religious and Social Research, 2004), 18–36.
32 Adekoya, “Islamic Fundamentalism in Yorubaland,” 30, 31.
33 Marshall, Political Spiritualities, 222.
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Purpose of Study
BecauseofthescarcityofliteratureontheChristianresponsetoethno-religious violence, particularly among Nigerian Pentecostals, the purpose of this study was to measure the attitude of pentecostal leaders toward violence and peace through a questionnaire and interview. Our working thesis was that Pente- costals are more prone toward violence than non-pentecostal Christians. Spe- cifically, we compared pentecostal leaders’ attitudes toward violence and peace to mainline Christian leaders’ attitudes toward violence and peace. Second, we compared the attitudes of pentecostal leaders in northern Nigeria, the location of most of the ethno-religious conflicts, to the attitudes of pente- costal leaders in southern Nigeria, where there have been no significant ethno- religious crises. Finally, we asked both pentecostal and non-pentecostal leaders what they believed the Christian response should be to ethno-religious vio- lence.
Research Methods
Participants
Because church leaders play a key role in shaping the views and attitudes of the members of their congregation, the target population for the study con- sisted of church leaders. The sample for this study consisted of 139 church leaders divided into three groups: pentecostal leaders in northern Nigeria (N = 37), mainline Christian leaders in northern Nigeria (N = 50), and pentecostal leaders in southern Nigeria (N = 52). With these samples, we were able to com- pare Pentecostals not only with mainline Protestants but also with Pentecostals in the south, who have not directly experienced ethno-religious violence. The northern mainliners were sampled from an evangelical seminary in neigh- boring Kaduna State, also in a conflict zone. The northern Pentecostals were sampled from two district meetings of the PFN in Plateau State. The southern Pentecostalsweresampledfromapastor’sconferenceconductedbytheNigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students (NIFES). Though the sample was not ran- domly selected, the respondents represent a broad range of pentecostal leaders based on the broad appeal of the meetings at which the pastors were sam- pled.34 Therefore, the sampled pastors are broadly representative of Nigerian
34 The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) is the broad umbrella organization that rep-
resents most Pentecostals in Nigeria. Any district PFN meeting would include a broad
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table 1
Theological training completed
Theological education Percent
None 26% Certificate 11% Diploma 25% Degree 18% Postgraduate diploma 6% Masters 9% Doctorate 4%
Note: Theological education is arranged in the order from the lowest level of training to the most advanced level of training.
pentecostal church leaders. All participants designated themselves as Pente- costals or non-Pentecostals.
Of the 139 church leaders, 82 percent were male. Though this sample had considerably more male than female respondents, this is representative of church leaders in Nigeria, who are predominately male. The average age of respondents was forty years. See Table 1 for the theological education that the participants had completed. (There was no significant difference in the theological training among the three samples.)
Approximately half of the sample were pastors (53 percent), 16 percent were lay leaders, 10 percent were theological educators, and 8 percent were denominational leaders. The remaining 13 percent reported “other” as their primary responsibility in the church.
Instrument
A questionnaire with four parts was developed to assess beliefs about conflict and violence. The first part consisted of forced-choice items to assess demo- graphic characteristics and experiences with violent conflict in northern Nige-
cross-section of Pentecostals. Although NIFES is not specifically a pentecostal organiza- tion, many of its leaders are Pentecostals and most of the pastors it attracts to a pastor’s workshop in Lagos would also represent a broad selection of Pentecostals.
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ria. The second part assessed interaction with Muslims. Five items described different ways of interacting with Muslims, such as “I do business transactions with Muslims.” Participants responded on a five-point scale that ranged from every day to never.
The third part of the questionnaire consisted of items that assessed three variables related to attitudes toward Muslims and conflict. Attitude toward Muslims was assessed with four items, such as “I respect Muslims.” Attitude toward violence was assessed using six items, such as “It may be necessary at times to burn mosques and drive Muslims from Christian areas.” Finally, hope for a harmonious future was measured by five items such as, “There can be a better future with Christians and Muslims living together in harmony.” Participants responded to all items on a seven-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Total scores were calculated by averaging responses to all items for each variable.
The final part of the questionnaire contained open-ended items in which participants could record their thoughts about conflict in northern Nigeria.
Procedures
All questionnaires were distributed by research assistants or senior researchers during a meeting and were collected immediately.
Interviews
A twelve-item semi-structured interview was developed to gather more infor- mation about pentecostal church leaders’ views toward violence and peace, as well as their efforts to discuss ethno-religious violence with their congrega- tions. Four interviews were conducted with top pentecostal leaders in Plateau State. Each interview lasted for about an hour and was audio-recorded. The key item in the interview was, “What do you personally think is the right thing for Christians to do in response to conflict in Plateau State?”
Results
Participants were asked what they thought was the most important cause of violent crises in Plateau State using a forced-choice item. Responses are pre- sented in Table 2. There was no significant relationship between the group (north pentecostal, north mainline, and south pentecostal) and the cause of crises (χ2 (8) = 7.74, ns). The majority of the participants from all groups be- lieved that religion was the primary cause of violent crises in Jos and Plateau State.
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table 2
Belief of most important cause of crisis
North North South
Pentecostal Mainline Pentecostal Overall
Religion 70% 66% 59% 64% Politics 15% 18% 17% 17% Tribal competition 6% 11% 11% 10% Injustice 9% 0% 11% 7% Economics 0% 5% 2% 2%
We were interested in whether there was any difference in the frequency of interaction with Muslims among the three groups. The one-way ANOVA with group as the independent variable and degree of interaction as the depen- dent variable was not significant (F(2,127) = 2.62, ns). Therefore, there is no significant difference in the degree to which northern pentecostal, northern mainline, and southern pentecostal leaders interact with Muslims. Neither age nor education had any significant effect on the degree of interaction with Mus- lims.35
When examining attitudes toward Muslims and conflict, there were two primary comparisons of interest. The first comparison was between northern Pentecostals and northern mainliners. The second comparison was between northern Pentecostals and southern Pentecostals. The results of these analy- ses are presented in Table 3 (comparison between northern pentecostal and mainline attitudes) and Table 4 (comparison between northern and southern Pentecostals).
35 It should be noted, however, that the relationship between Christians and Muslims in
southernNigeriaismuchdifferentfromthatinnorthernNigeria.TheMuslimsinthesouth
are predominantly from the Yoruba ethnic group, which also has a large proportion of
Christians. Historically, the Muslim and Christian Yorubas have intermarried, developed
business partnerships, and lived together freely with little or no conflict. On the other
hand, the Muslims in northern Nigeria are predominantly from the Hausa ethnic group,
which has only a small minority of Christians. There is considerably less intermarriage
among Christians and Muslims in the north. Therefore, ethnic rivalries in the north
sometime exploit religious differences to the point that it is often difficult to determine
whether a conflict is based upon ethnicity or religion.
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table 3
Northern Pentecostal and mainliner beliefs about Muslims and violence
Pentecostal Mainline
Variable Mean Mean t df p
Attitude toward violence 3.26 (1.36) 3.05 (0.93) 0.82 83 .415 Attitude toward Muslims 5.45 (1.30) 4.86 (1.11) 2.26 83 .026* Hope for harmonious future 5.67 (1.28) 4.91 (1.37) 2.61 83 .011*
Note: Standard deviations are in parentheses.
table 4
Northern and Southern Pentecostal beliefs about Muslims and violence
Northern Southern
Variable Mean Mean t df p
Attitude toward violence 3.26 (1.36) 2.34 (0.95) 3.67 83
