NECO Christian Religious Studies Syllabus 2026/2027 & Textbooks

By Syllabus2026 February 23, 2026 NECO Syllabus 2026 0 Comments

The NECO Christian Religious Studies (CRS) syllabus covers four main areas: Old Testament (Creation to Exile), New Testament (Gospels and Acts), and selected Epistles. Key themes include God’s sovereignty, covenants, leadership, faith, and moral lessons from biblical figures like Joseph, Moses, David, and Jesus. It emphasizes moral application to modern life.

NECO Christian Religious Studies Syllabus 2026/2027 & Textbooks: focuses on thematic Bible study, covering God’s sovereignty, leadership, covenant, and the life/teachings of Jesus Christ, aimed at applying biblical principles to modern life. topics also include the Synoptic Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and epistles, with the Revised Standard Version (RSV) Bible being the primary text.

Marking Guide & Sections

Paper 1: Multiple-Choice Questions

In Paper 1, you’ll be given 50 multiple-choice questions to answer. You need to answer all 50 questions within 1 hour. This section is worth 40 marks, so each question carries less than one mark. This part of the exam is designed to test your general knowledge of key themes, stories, and concepts from the Bible.

Paper 2: Essay Questions

Paper 2 is a bit different. It has nine essay questions, but you only need to answer four of them. You have 2 hours to complete this section, and it’s worth 60 marks. The questions are divided into three sections:

Section A: Section A questions will be set from the Old Testament Themes. This section has four questions. You’ll be required to answer at least one question from this section.

Section B: Section B questions will be set from the themes from the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles: There are three questions here. You also need to answer at least one question from this section.

Section C: This section’s question will be set from the themes from Selected Epistles: This section has two questions. Again, you must answer at least one from here.

For the fourth question, you can choose from either Section A or Section B, depending on where you feel most versed in.

The Revised Standard Version (RSV)

When preparing for the exam, keep in mind that the questions will be based on the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This is the standard text used for setting the exam questions.

NECO Christian Religious Studies Syllabus 2026/2027

CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
SN	TOPICS	OBJECTIVES
1	The Sovereignty of God	1.1 God, the Creator 1.2 God, the Controller of the universe	Gen. 1; 2
2	Leadership roles	2.1 Joseph 2.2 Moses 2.3 Joshua 2.4 Deborah	Gen. 37; 1-28, 41: 1-57, 45: 115 Exodus 1;2;3;4:1-17;5: 1-5, 2223; 6: 28-30, 7; 1-7; 14;32: 1- 14 Numbers 13:1-33; 14: 1-19 Numbers 27: 15-23 Joshua 1: 1-9
3	Parental Responsibility	Eli and Samuel	1 Samuel 15: 1-26; 16: 14-23; 31: 1-13
4	Consequences of Saul’s disobedience		(a) David’s submission to the will of God 1 Samuel 26; (b) David’s sin, repentance and forgiveness 2 Sam 12: 15-25
5	Submission to the will of God	5.1 David’s submission to the will of God 5.2 David’s sin, repentance and forgiveness	(a) Solomon’s wisdom 1 Kings 3: 3-28; 4: 29-34; 5: 112; 8 (b) The unwise decision of Solomon and Rehoboam 1 Kings 9; 15-23; 11: 1-13; 12:1-20
6	Making Decisions	6.1 Solomon’s wisdom 6.2 The unwise decision of Solomon and Rehoboam	(a) Religious tensions during Ahab’s reign Kings 16: 29-34; 17: 1-7; 18: 1-19 (b) Elijah at Mount Carmel 1 Kings 18: 17-46
7	Supremacy of God	7.1 Religious tensions during Ahab’s reign 7.2 Elijah at Mount Carmel	(a) Ahab :1 Kings 21: 1-29 (b) Gehazi :2 Kings 5
8	Greed and its effects	8.1 Ahab 8.2 Gehazi	2 Kings 22; 23: 1-30
9	Religious reforms	The reign of King Josiah	2 Kings 22; 23: 1-30
10	Concern for one’s Nation	10.1 The condition of the nation 10.2 Response to the state of the nation	(a) The condition of the nation: 2 Kings 24; 25;1-17 (b) Response to the state of the nation Nehemiah 1; 2: 9-20; 4 Ezra 1; 4; 5: 1-2; 6: 13-22; 7: 110
11	Faith in God	11.1 Faith and courage 11.2 Faith and power	(a) Faith and courage :Daniel 3 (b) Faith and power Daniel 6
12	Nature of God	12.1 True religion and social justice – Amos 12.2 God’s divine love – Hosea	(a) True religion and social justice – Amos Amos 2: 6-8; 4; 5: 1-24; 7: 1017; 8 (b) God’s divine love – Hosea Hosea 1; 2; 3; 6
	SECTION B: Themes from the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts Of The Apostles
1	Baptism and Temptation of Jesus	1.1 The Baptism 1.2 The Temptation	(a) The Baptism Matthew 3:13-17 Mark 1: 9-11; Luke 3: 21-22 (b) The Temptation Matthew 4: 1-11; Mark 1: 12-13; Luke 4:1-13
2	The Call and Demands of Discipleship		Matthew 4: 18-25; 8: 18-22; 9:9-13 ; Mark 1: 16-20; 2: 13-17; Luke 5: 1-11; 9: 57-63; 14: 25-33
3	Jesus’ Teaching on forgiveness		Matthew 6: 12,14-15; 18:21-35
4	The Trials of Jesus	4.1 Jesus at Gethsemane 4.2 Peter’s Denials 4.3 Condemnation of Jesus	(a) Jesus at Gethsemane Matthew 26:36-56; Mk 14: 32-52; (b) Peter’s Denials Matthew 26: 69-75; Mark 14: 66-72; Luke 22: 54-62 (c) Condemnation of Jesus Matthew 26:47-75 Mark 14: 53-72; Luke 22: 66-71; 23: 1-12
5	The Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus	(a) Crucifixion and burial (b) The Resurrection	Matthew 27: 32-66 Mark 15: 16-47; Luke 23: 26-56 Matthew 28:1-10 Mark 16: 1-14; Luke 24: 1- 35
6	Fellowship in the Early Church		Acts 1:15-26; 2:41-47; 4:32-37; 5:1-11; 6:2-6
7	The Holy Spirit and the Mission to the Gentiles	(a) The Holy Spirit at Pentecost (b) Mission to the Gentiles	Acts 2 Acts 9; 11:1-18
8	Opposition to the Gospel Message		Acts 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 6:8-9; 7:1-10; 12:1-24

			(a) Faith and Works James 1: 2-27; 2:14-26 (b) Impartiality James 2:1-13 (c) Effective Prayers James 1: 2-8; 5:13-18
	SECTION C Themes from selected Epistles
1	The Epistles of James	(a) Faith and Works (b) Impartiality (c) Effective Prayers	James 1: 2-27; 2:14-26 James 2:1-13 James 1: 2-8; 5:13-18
2	The Epistle of 1 Peter	(a) Good Citizenship (b) Christians Living among non-Christians (c) Interpersonal Relationship among Christians	1 Peter 2:13-17 1 Peter 2:1-25 1 Peter 5:1-11
3	The Holy Spirit and the Mission to the Gentiles	7.1 The Holy Spirit at Pentecost 7.2 Mission to the Gentiles

NECO Christian Religious Studies Textbooks 2026/2027

GENERAL
1. The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version)
2. New Clarendon Bible Series
3. Bright, John: History and Religion of Israel
4. Anderson, B. W.: The Living World of the Old Testament.
5. Kee. H. C. & Young: The Living World of the New Testament
6. Cambell, D. B. J.: The Synoptic Gospels
7. New Bible Commentary – Cambridge.
OLD TESTAMENT
8. Quarcopom T.N.O History and Religion of Israel AUP, Ibadan, 1986
9. Dickson Kwesie
i. History and Religion of Israel Darton L&T 1968
ii.From the institution of monarchy to the fall of the Northern Kingdom.
NEW TESTAMENT
10. Guy, H.A -The Life of Christ – The Acts of the Apostles
11. Pobee, John S Matthew and Mark for Schools.
12. Dickson K .A The Gospel According to Luke (Accra, Asempa Publishers)
13. Awolabi Joshua Simple Approach to Christian Religious Knowledge Elis Association ,Lagos 2011.

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