Nicki Minaj, the Pope, and Donald Trump.  It sounds like the lead-in to a joke. But recently the rapper, the Pontiff, and the President addressed persecution in Nigeria. It's not surprising for the Pope to speak about religious persecution, as when he lamented the kidnapping of students  in Nigeria and Cameroon. Nicki Minaj, on the other hand…  Her commentary  and resharing of President Trump's social media announcement naming Nigeria a "country of particular concern"  for se

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Oct. 31 designation of Nigeria as a country of particular concern (CPC) for the reported killing of Christians made global headlines. Trump declared that the United States would stand with “our CHERISHED Christians” around the world, threatening to halt all aid to Nigeria and even claiming the U.S. might take unilateral military action to “wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” if the Nigerian government

Sacred Sites as Educational Tools to Foster Diverse, Interfaith Relationships Indonesia is a country of nations. The sprawling archipelago of some 14,000 islands stretches from Sumatra in Asia to New Guinea in Oceania. Hosting 280 million people speaking more than 700 languages, diversity is the one commonality across the many peoples who call themselves Indonesians. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit Jakarta for the first time. What brought me to Indonesia wa

A recent United Nations  report  documented Russia’s targeting of civilian populations in Ukraine with drone attacks and concluded they constituted crimes against humanity. During this almost daily onslaught, religious places are also attacked. In recent days, Russian  airstrikes  killed innocent civilians and damaged a church in the Donetsk region.   In stark contrast, the United States observed October 27 as “International Religious Freedom Day,” commemorating the day in 19