The article explores how employees in the Church of Sweden understand knowledge about the Christian tradition and interprets these reflections through the analytical framework of religious literacy. The study is based on semi-structured group interviews with church employees. The findings show that knowledge is understood both as familiarity with Christian tradition and as interpretive and relational practice. The article argues that, in an ecclesial context, religious literacy involves not only interpreting tradition but also articulating and communicating its meanings in contemporary contexts.
This study interrogates the nexus of education and religions (Christianity and Islam) in Nigeria and the extent to which it contributes to entrepreneurship and poverty reduction. To achieve this, three research questions are formulated and answered; 1. Does religion affect the desire for western education? 2. Does the acquisition of western education promote entrepreneurship? 3. Does western education influence capacity for poverty reduction? The study uses secondary data from across the 36 states of Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Data analysis reveals that with between 80.9% and 87.8% killings in Nigeria in 2020-2022 traced to Islamic insurgency against western education in the North, scolionophobia (the fear of school) has set in, reducing desire for western education. With entrepreneurship included at almost all levels of western education, self-employment and decent paid employment, is promoted in the South that accepts it. Data analysis also reveals that income poverty in 2019 in the South is lower than the national average of 40.1% at 22.57%, which sharply contrasts with 59.76% of the North that antagonises western education. Data on 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) affirms the same position. For the South, the MPI of 0.195 is lower than the national figure of 0.257, implying that South with its western education reduces both income poverty and multidimensional poverty better. This Chapter argues that the nexus of western education and Christianity which has played a strong role in poverty reduction and entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s South is needed in the country’s North, that is characterised by high poverty and business mortality rates. Appropriate recommendations are made to achieve this.
