The Philosophical Foundations of Secularism and Religion in Nigerian Public Life

This study examines the philosophical foundations of secularism and religion in Nigerian public life, focusing on the debate about the appropriate relationship between religious authority and state power in a multi-religious democracy. Nigeria's constitutional identity as a secular state coexists with deep religious pluralism, sharia law in twelve Northern states, and the pervasive influence of religious leaders in political affairs, creating a rich but unstable philosophical terrain. Using a descriptive philosophical design, the study engages with John Rawls's account of public reason and secularism, Charles Taylor's philosophy of secular modernity, and Islamic political philosophy through the thought of Al-Mawardi, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. Structured interviews with 20 religious leaders, constitutional scholars, and philosophy academics in Abuja and Kano inform the primary data. Findings reveal a fundamental philosophical disagreement between those who, following Rawls, believe that public reason requires bracketing religious premises in political deliberation, and those who, drawing on Islamic and Christian philosophical traditions, insist that religious premises are the most reliable foundations for public morality. The study argues that a contextualised Rawlsian framework, sensitive to Nigeria's deep pluralism, offers the most philosophically coherent path forward. Keywords: secularism, religion and politics, public reason, Nigerian democracy, Rawls.