Ecclesiology and Nation-Building: Rethinking the Church’s Constitutional Role in Nigeria’s Federal Democracy

This doctoral study rethinks the ecclesiological basis for Christian civic engagement in Nigeria's federal democratic system, developing an original constructive ecclesiology of public witness that addresses the church's constitutional role in a pluralistic postcolonial state. Nigeria's federal constitution protects religious freedom and mandates state secularity, yet the church operates as a significant non-state actor with potential contributions to national cohesion, governance accountability, and social development. Employing political theology, constitutional law analysis, and ecclesiological constructive theology, the study draws on primary data from forty interviews with constitutional lawyers, senior church leaders, political scientists, and public theologians across all six geopolitical zones, supplemented by comparative analysis of church-state relations in South Africa, Brazil, and Germany. The study critically evaluates four dominant ecclesiological models operative in Nigeria, namely the apolitical spiritual community, the prosperity-seeking client of political patrons, the prophetic public church, and the collaborative development partner, and assesses each against constitutional, theological, and empirical criteria. An original ecclesiology of redemptive civic presence is proposed that integrates prophetic witness, collaborative development, and constitutional literacy into a coherent framework for the Nigerian church's public role. Keywords: ecclesiology, nation-building, Nigerian democracy, public theology, church-state relations