Costs and benefits of proliferation of Christian denominations in Nigeria

Abstract

The unbridled proliferation of Churches in Nigeria has steered up concerns among adherents of religious faiths, onlookers and academics alike. Nigerian society today is undergoing significant constant proliferation of Churches which has brought not only changing values, but also source of solutions to people’s problems. The origin of this phenomenon could be traced to Martin Luther’s 95 theses which sparked off religious revolution in 16^th century Europe. Following Luther, Zwingli and John Calvin started reforms in Switzerland; John Lawx in Scotland, also Holland and other countries witnessed the reform. This reform gave rise to the formation of the Lutherans, the Anglicans, and the Presbyterians. The Pentecostals and the independent Churches which proliferated at last also joined. In Nigeria some of them started to surface towards the end of the 19th century. Proliferation of Churches entails multiplicity of Christian religious groups with each founder claiming divine origin of his or her ministry. However, this study has established other factors rather than divine call for Church proliferation. The study has also tried to explore Church proliferation in Nigeria pointing out its costs and benefits and solutions were suggested on how to curtail the trend in order for it not to blow out of proportion.