NJSWE Paper

Nigeria is a multicultural and multi-religious nation where Islam and Christianity are the two dominant, conventional and officially patronised religions, with less attention given to other religions. In Russia, Orthodox Christianity is predominantly practiced. Thus, while Muslims and Christians contest for religious space, the followers of minority religions in Nigeria are often marginalised, discriminated, restricted and, to some extent, persecuted. Similarly, other Christian beliefs besides Orthodox Christianity in Russia face discrimination. Using qualitative research method, this paper seeks to address religious partiality and its associated vices in Nigeria by promoting religious tolerance through the instrumentality of Freedom of Religion. This study opines that freedom of religion can promote religious tolerance in Nigeria; thereby reducing incessant interreligious conflicts and social hostilities in the religious pluralised Nigerian and Russian societies. Freedom of Religion‟s legal status, scope, dimensions, significance, tenets, misunderstanding and limitations are discussed. The present state of Freedom of Religion in Nigeria and Russia are explained with a view to revealing the need for religious tolerance in these countries searching for peace, security and progress. Furthermore, the paper identifies religious tolerance as part of the principles of national ethics of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Russian Federation, and argues that Freedom of Religious education can help to inculcate religious tolerance and dispel religious ignorance from the masses of these countries. Finally, it concludes by recommending that religious leaders should be exemplary on religious liberty; media should be conscious of religious sensitivity of Nigerians and Russians; governments should be neutral on religious matters through their policies and encourage religious freedom, and studies that promote inter-faith conversations.