Robert A. Dowd is Assistant Professor of Political Science and director of the Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

"Dowd produced a significant ground-breaking study that should stimulate other researchers to do likewise and build on his hypothesis. ... it is a text not only for those keenly interested in the nexus between religion and politics in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it is necessary reading for Africanists be they political scientists, policy makers, or religious-studies specialists." -- Muhammed Haron, Islamic Studies

"The book thus in presenting [a] copious wealth of knowledge in the interfacing roles of Christianity and Islam in promoting the culture of liberal democracy in sub-Saharan Africa in the same vein presents itself as a veritable springboard for further research."--Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe, African Studies Quarterly

"Robert Dowd's fascinating work highlights religious diversity and integration in a broadly tolerant, democratic African culture. This book is based on thorough field research, and specialists will find insights on every page. But the book should not be consigned solely to academia. It has immediate relevance to policy makers crafting responses to ethnic and religious conflict in Africa in general, and, in particular, to the bloody, radical Islamist insurgency called Boko Haram in northern Nigeria." --Amb. John Campbell, ret., Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

"Robert Dowd wrestles with the counter-intuitive hypothesis that religious diversity in African contexts predicts greater tolerance, which over time facilitates a political culture of liberal democracy. This is in contrast to the frequent assumption that religious homogeneity leads to more political stability and that more diversity leads to conflict. I strongly recommend this book both to scholars of African religion and political culture, and to generalists trying to make sense of larger global patterns." --John N. Paden, Clarence Robinson Professor of International Studies, George Mason University

"In lucid and accessible prose, Robert Dowd offers startling new observations about the relationship between religion and democracy in a region often neglected by political scientists and policy analysts-sub-Saharan Africa. And the conclusion he draws is of enormous theoretical and practical significance: that intense religious diversity and inter-religious interaction are not a hindrance to democracy but a key catalyst for the development of robust political and religious freedom. This is a landmark book that should be required reading for scholars and policy makers alike." --Timothy Samuel Shah, Associate Director & Scholar in Residence, Religious Freedom Project, Berkley Center For Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University