Social Poverty in Nigeria: The Role of the Church in the Structures of Inequality

Innocent Karibo; Bob-Manuel, Lolo F.

doi:10.51699/cajssh.v7i2.1373

Authors

Innocent Karibo Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Bob-Manuel, Lolo F. Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Rivers State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51699/cajssh.v7i2.1373

Keywords:

Church, Poverty Alleviation, Christian Social Responsibility, Faith-Based Organizations, Nigeria

Abstract

Poverty in Nigeria has become a deliberate mechanism of control, with deprivation converted into political currency for manipulation and domination. The church stands as a paradox in this landscape both a sanctuary of empowerment and, at times, a silent accomplice in sustaining inequality. Faith communities intervene through education, welfare, and microcredit, yet risk reinforcing dependency through selective charity, prosperity doctrines, and disengagement from structural reform. Anchored in Liberation Theology and Critical Social Theory, this study employs qualitative, interpretive analysis thematically reviewing ecclesial interventions and critically evaluating religious discourse. This lens exposes the church as a contested site where complicity and resistance converge, shaping Nigeria's socio-political reality. The argument is direct, genuine transformation demands moving beyond palliative charity toward prophetic, justice-oriented praxis that confronts inequality at its roots. Only by embracing structural change can the church subvert poverty's weaponization and reclaim its vocation as a liberating force within Nigeria's socio-political order.

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