Managing Interfaith Relations and Religious Tolerance in Nigerian Christian Organisations

Christian organisations operating in Nigeria's religiously diverse environment, particularly in states with significant Muslim populations, must navigate interfaith relations as a professional management challenge. This study develops a professional interfaith relations management framework for Nigerian Christian organisations. A professional assessment design was adopted, combining structured interviews with 25 leaders of Christian-initiated schools, hospitals, and development organisations operating in interfaith contexts across Niger, Kwara, and Plateau States, with documentary analysis of existing interfaith policy documents and incident reports. A review of interfaith management models from South African, Kenyan, and Indonesian Christian organisations provided comparative perspective. Findings reveal significant variation in interfaith management practice, from deliberate inclusion and dialogue to inadvertent exclusion and stereotyping. Organisations with documented interfaith inclusion policies show lower conflict incidence and higher community trust. Staff training on religious sensitivity is rare, creating vulnerability to unintended offence. The proposed management framework addresses five domains: hiring and employment equity, service delivery inclusivity, communication and public engagement protocols, partnership with Muslim organisations, and conflict de-escalation. Each domain includes practical tools and minimum standards. Expert validation by interfaith dialogue practitioners confirmed the framework's practical utility. Recommendations include adoption by Christian health and education organisations operating in interfaith contexts and integration into Christian management education programmes.

Keywords: interfaith relations management, Christian organisations, religious tolerance, Nigeria, professional framework