ABSTRACT

Th e paper examines the 1930s Pentecostal revival in Nigeria that brought Nigerian Pentecostalism onto the global scene. Th e study is approached from a socio-historical perspective, drawing data from archival search, oral interview and bibliographical search. Among other things, the research brings to the fore the remote and immediate impact of the revival on the Nigerian Church and State. More importantly, the paper locates the rapid growth of Pentecostalism in Nigeria (particularly the much proliferation of churches in the southwest) in the aftermath eff ects of the 1930s' indigenous Pentecostal revival. Th at notwithstanding, the paper denounces the undue emphasis on material prosperity which forms the nucleus of Pentecostal crusades/ revival in contemporary time and calls on all stake holders to go back to the 'rock from which they were hewn' and purify Pentecostalism in Nigeria of all questionable characteristics.

This work is an historical assessment of Christian‐African traditional religion worshipper relations in south‐western Nigeria from the inception of Christian mission to date. A combination of bibliographical search and field work methods were employed to elicit information for the research. The paper shows that first contact in south‐western Nigeria was a smooth relation between the two faiths. However, no sooner had Christianity become established than tensions began arising between the two religious faiths, simply owing to differences in belief systems and world views. The work identifies the root cause of these problems as a lack of organized dialogue between the adherents of the two faiths. Suggestions are made that the researcher strongly believes, if followed, would aid peaceful co‐existence among the adherents of the two faiths on the one hand, and on the other enhance Christian missionary enterprise in south‐western Nigeria.

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