An Original Theoretical Framework for Church-State Relations in a Multi-Religious Democratic Nigeria

Church-state relations in Nigeria's multi-religious constitutional democracy are governed by a complex of constitutional provisions, historical precedents, and contested theological positions that have not been integrated into a coherent theoretical framework capable of guiding both church and state actors. This study develops an original theoretical framework for church-state relations in multi-religious democratic Nigeria. A multi-disciplinary framework construction methodology integrates constitutional law analysis, comparative political theology, Nigerian religious history, and empirical research. Stage one analyses the Nigerian constitution's religious clauses, federal character provisions, and judicial precedents on religious matters in church-state disputes from 1999 to 2023 through legal and documentary analysis. Stage two examines how Nigerian Christian, Muslim, and traditional religious institutions have theorised their relationships with the democratic state through document analysis and interviews with 30 religious leaders and constitutional scholars. Stage three critically engages global church-state theoretical frameworks including strict separationism, Christian nationalism, Christian democracy, and principled pluralism. Stage four constructs the original Nigerian Multi-Religious Democratic Compact Theory, grounded in the political theology of differentiated responsibilities, the constitutional principle of religious non-discrimination, and the sociological reality of pervasive religious influence on public life. Original contributions include the Differentiated Institutional Sovereignty Model, a Theology of Constitutional Secularity distinct from philosophical secularism, and practical church engagement guidelines derived from the theoretical framework. Validation through a national symposium of thirty theologians and legal scholars confirms the framework's interdisciplinary credibility.

Keywords: church-state relations, multi-religious democracy, Nigeria, theoretical framework, political theology