This study explored the role of church leaders in addressing climate change with a focus on Catholic, Anglican, and Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. The study adopted a semistructured face-to-face interview with 30 church leaders drawn from the selected denominations (i.e., 10 church leaders from each denomination). These participants were spread across five states in five geopolitical zones in Nigeria. A descriptive narrative approach was employed in the thematic organization and analysis of data. Findings showed that while all the participants across the three denominations—Catholic, Anglican, and Pentecostal churches—agreed to have heard of climate change, their perceptions of the causes of the phenomenon were narrow and varied along religious denominational lines. More Catholic participants expressed belief in anthropogenic climate change than did Anglicans and Pentecostals. Awareness creation, charity for disaster victims, and prayer were identified by the participants as the roles churches can play in addressing climate change. Although climate change action was generally poor among participants, Catholics engaged more in organizational action than did Anglicans and Pentecostals. In contrast, climate change actions were more on a personal level than on the organizational/church level within Pentecostal churches. The implications of the findings for the Church/church leaders, policy, and future research are discussed.

Following Lynn White’s thesis of 1967 which indicted some Christian values for the current ecological crisis, many studies have been conducted on the connection between religion and environment/ecological crisis. These studies have sought to know whether religious beliefs and values influence environmental/climate change perceptions of people. However, while these studies have been geographically biased, their results have remained inconclusive. This study therefore examined this age-long debate with evidence from Nigeria. The study involved 30 church leaders drawn from Catholic, Anglican and Pentecostal churches in five geographical zones in Nigeria. The data was analyzed using descriptive analytical method. Findings show that religious values/schemas in forms of Eschatological/End-Time beliefs, Dominion beliefs, Theological fatalism, Pessimism etc. influenced climate change perceptions among the church leaders. The study also found that religious affiliation and theology mattered with respect to the influence of some religious beliefs. The implications of findings for the research on religion-environmental/climate change connection are discussed.

This article revisited the concept of ‘Inculturation’ in modern Africa. Through the use of a historical phenomenological method, the article averred that Inculturation of Christianity in modern Africa is a herculean task that demands absolute caution. Hence, the article discussed some salient issues such as the evolutionary nature of African culture; the unity of the Christendom; and the Christian ecological concern, which should be put into serious consideration in the entire process of inculturation in Africa to safeguard the essence of the gospel of Christ and to meet contemporary challenges.

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In instances of insecurity in many societies, churches “also” suffer. Yet there is a dearth of literature exploring the experiences of churches in connection with situations of insecurity. This study, therefore, explored the experiences of churches in the face of the high rate of insecurity in Rivers State, Nigeria. Information was elicited from 16 church leaders of different denominations in different communities in Rivers State. Using a descriptive narrative approach, the study found that churches’ experiences in some communities in the state are reflections of helplessness and despair due to the incidences of cultism, kidnapping, armed robbery, etc. Many churches in some of the embattled communities have been deserted or left with a few older people. This has had negative impacts on evangelism and the churches’ economy, with the clergy at the receiving end. The implications of findings for the government and churches are discussed.