In Lagos, one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities, many residents blend religious traditions in hopes of overcoming daily hardships like poverty, crime, and failing infrastructure. Anthropological research highlights Chrislam, a movement born in Lagos in the 1970s that merges Christian and Muslim practices, as a striking example of this “religious shopping.” Two main branches exist: Ifeoluwa, with about 50 followers, and the larger Oke Tude, with over 1,000 adherents. Both draw on the Bible and the Qur’an and invoke Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad, though their practices differ. Followers describe combining faiths as a way to “hedge their bets” for a better life. Rather than reflecting Nigeria’s north-south religious divide or narratives of conflict, Chrislam—alongside movements like Ghana’s Afrikania Mission—shows how religious boundaries can serve as points of exchange rather than battle lines, offering a lesson in coexistence for a divided world.
The Conversation