Contesting Heritage

In the heart of Nigeria’s religious landscape, where Pentecostal fervor and charismatic worship reshape everyday expressions of faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands at a crossroads. Contesting Heritage is a compelling exploration of how a mission-initiated denomination grapples with cultural relevance, liturgical innovation, and theological continuity in a society undergoing deep religious transformation. Focusing on the Adventist community in Ilishan-Remo, this book investigates the dynamic responses of Nigerian Adventists to the Pentecostalization of worship across the country. Drawing on rich ethnographic fieldwork and historical analysis, this study reveals that Adventist heritage in Nigeria is not static, but contested, negotiated, and continually reinvented. It traces how worship practices such as prayer, singing, and church leadership evolve through processes of resistance, accommodation, and hybridization, resulting in a distinctly Nigerian expression of global Adventism. Contesting Heritage offers a rare intra-denominational lens into the complexities of religious identity in postcolonial Africa. It challenges assumptions of sectarian withdrawal and illuminates how Adventists actively participate in—and influence—the wider Nigerian religious marketplace.