Religious leaders play a vital role in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). To understand their role and to work with them requires religious literacy: how does religion function, how does it relate to violence and terrorism, etc.? However, based on empirical research in Nigeria and Kenya (we interviewed more than 70 religious leaders in each country) it appears that religious literacy is not sufficient. To counter violent extremism, theological literacy is also needed to understand religiously motived violence and to develop counter narratives and initiate dialogue. The findings of the research will be presented to demonstrate why and when theological literacy is needed and what it entails in the context of Nigeria and Kenya.