A Vassar College student says administrators ignored concerns from Christian students and allowed a student burlesque group to mock their faith in a sexual performance in the campus chapel.
Sydney, a Vassar sophomore granted anonymity for this story, told The Daily Wire she first learned about the event when a friend showed her the flyer for a performance titled “Whoreship &amp; Prayer.” The show was produced by Vassar Burlesque, a student group that regularly puts on sexual and drag performances.
“I found the flyer … and I was disgusted immediately,” Sydney said. “The imagery and name of the show made it [clear] &#8230; it was definitely a show that had a Christian theme … clearly mocking Christianity.”
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013635" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-410x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 1" width="410" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-410x576.jpeg 410w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-213x300.jpeg 213w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-768x1080.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1-1093x1536.jpeg 1093w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/burlesque-image-1.jpeg 1264w" sizes=" (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /></div>
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Sydney emailed the dean of student living, the college president, and other administrators to explain exactly why Christian students believed the performance violated Vassar’s stated values of diversity and inclusion. She says she was then contacted by the Office of Institutional Equity, the department that handles identity-based complaints, including those pertaining to religion. She says she met with <a href="https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-equity/2024/12/19/eoaa-welcomes-brian-van-brunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Van Brun</a><a href="https://offices.vassar.edu/institutional-equity/2024/12/19/eoaa-welcomes-brian-van-brunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">t</a>, Vassar&#8217;s Institutional Equity and Title VI Coordinator.
Sydney said Van Brunt acknowledged the event was mocking religious imagery and allegedly admitted it would have been treated differently if Christians weren’t the ones being targeted.
“He basically said … it would be different if it were another religion,” Sydney said. Referring to comments students made on the anonymous social media platform Fizz, she said one hypothetical they talked about was if the flyer had referenced Allah. “If Allah was used … then it wouldn’t have been allowed. And he said, ‘Well, obviously that’s a different situation.’”
Sydney said Van Brunt floated the idea of making minor changes to the flyer, such as removing the image of the Virgin Mary or changing the event&#8217;s name, but even those were rejected by the administration. Despite the number of complaints from Christian students, the administration informed them the event would proceed with no modifications.
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013637" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-396x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 2" width="396" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-396x576.jpeg 396w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-206x300.jpeg 206w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-768x1117.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2-1056x1536.jpeg 1056w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-2.jpeg 1249w" sizes=" (max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px" /></div>
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“Whoreship and Prayer” sold out both nights, <a href="https://miscellanynews.org/2025/12/04/arts/whoreship-and-prayer-burlesque-is-a-religious-experience/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> Vassar’s student newspaper, The Miscellany News. In its coverage, the paper described the November performances as a fusion of religious motifs with sexual choreography.
The Miscellany noted some of the acts, including routines called “Touched by the Holy Spirit,” “Red Sea,” and “Blasphemy.”
Muse, one of the group’s co-presidents, told The Miscellany the show explored “the relationship between sexuality and religion — human intersectionalities that exist in a chaotic harmony.” She added, “I grew up very religious … my spirituality is still a huge part of my life, but the relationship between my body, sexuality and my spirituality has always been a bit of a struggle to untangle.”
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1013639" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-446x576.jpeg" alt="Burlesque image 3" width="446" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-446x576.jpeg 446w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-232x300.jpeg 232w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-768x993.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3-1188x1536.jpeg 1188w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Burlesque-image-3.jpeg 1264w" sizes=" (max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px" /></div>
&nbsp;
Reached for comment, Van Brunt referred The Daily Wire to Victoria Grantham, the vice president for communications, who declined to comment.
Sydney said the Vassar Burlesque group also mocked the backlash from Christian students online, posting memes and celebratory images that used nun costumes, Bibles, and crosses as ironic props. “They actually posted like a tweet … to mock the fact that we were complaining,” Sydney said.
The college sophomore said this was not the first time she saw bias against Christians on campus, but it was the most blatant.
“It made me feel uncomfortable, and I had already felt uncomfortable as a Christian,” she said. “I had heard little comments … little jabs at Christianity before, but I had never seen something this blatantly inappropriate and blatantly hurtful.”
This incident has convinced her that the school’s commitment to “inclusion” does not apply equally.
“They’re outright saying, well, if you are a Christian, you don’t have the same rights as other religions … everyone except you kind of thing. I felt very ostracized.”
The Vassar Chapel continues to host worship nights, Christmas services, and religious gatherings, yet Vassar maintains that it is a “secular space.”
Sydney said that the explanation does not resolve the larger problem: the selective enforcement of respect for religion. “Hopefully, if we bring more attention to it, then it won’t have to be this way forever,” she told The Daily Wire.

Vassar story

Woke New York College Allowed Burlesque Troupe To Mock Christianity In Campus Chapel

Vassar Approved Burlesque Mocking Christianity But Not Other Faiths, Student Claims

Christianity

College

Discrimination

Religion

Many Americans in recent years have returned to religion in a revival that accelerated because of the work of the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, according to Dr. Ben Carson.
Carson, who served under the first Trump administration as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, spoke about Kirk’s legacy in an interview with The Daily Wire on the floor of Turning Point’s AmericaFest conference that ended on Sunday.
An American faith revival has “really been going on for the last couple of years,” said Carson. “I think it accelerated quite a bit with what Charlie was doing.”
The Trump administration alum said that many in Generation Z are finding faith because they recognized that the direction of the country without religious values was “not one that was going to lead to good things.” Many turned to religion after asking how the United States can “be a great nation.”
“The young men in particular are really coming back to church, and the young women will catch up, too,” said Carson, noting that women growing up today are facing complicated choices between balancing a career and having children. The doctor is optimistic that expanding opportunities for virtual work will improve women’s ability to balance both.
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Carson’s think tank, the American Cornerstone Institute, has launched an initiative to aid in the work that Kirk did and to reacquaint young people with the United States’ founding and religious values: the Little Patriots program. Through the program, Carson hopes to set young Americans on a good path early in their education before “Marxists” in the education system corrupt their thinking with leftist and victimhood ideology.
“The two biggest teacher unions are full of Marxists, and so it&#8217;s a battle, but I think we have the better message, to be quite frank, and we just have to make sure that we don&#8217;t get discouraged and that we&#8217;re willing to fight as hard as they do,” he said.
As a veteran of the first Trump administration, Carson said that President Donald Trump’s second term is “incredible.”
“I think the Lord did us a favor by allowing Trump to lose – or at least to be perceived as losing – so that he wasn&#8217;t there for four years so he could really think about what happened, what were the obstacles, what were the things that really worked, so that by the time his next term came around, he was ready,” said Carson.

Ben Carson

Ben Carson Says Charlie Kirk ‘Accelerated’ An American Revival

AMFEST

Charlie Kirk

Politics

The Daily Wire

Christian conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey speaks truth eloquently and graciously, yet firmly and with conviction. She takes Biblical teachings from thousands of years ago and applies them to the present day. Perhaps that&#8217;s why Stuckey hosts a podcast called &#8220;Relatable.&#8221;
The Daily Wire sat down with Stuckey ahead of her AmericaFest speech, and in less than ten minutes, she covered the major topics in the conservative movement in a way that anyone can understand, no matter how well-versed on a topic.
&#8220;I think clarity is kindness,&#8221; Stuckey said.
Stuckey is in her 30s, has an audience of 25 to 45-year-olds who tune in to her episodes, yet she still connects with Gen Z on college campuses.
“I want to do the best that I can to bring clarity to confusion and bring courage where there is cowardice,&#8221; Stuckey said.  &#8220;I care a whole lot about what the Bible says about what&#8217;s going on in the world, and I want to try to bring that to people as much as I can.&#8221;
Stuckey&#8217;s doing that with the more than 700,000 subscribers who listen to &#8220;Relatable.&#8221; It&#8217;s a decent sample size to get a pulse on how her mostly-female audience feels about the country. She told The Daily Wire that she recently asked her listeners what concerns them most and it was overwhelmingly the growing influence of Islam — a topic Stuckey said is being downplayed in the conservative movement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I asked my 840k Instagram followers (mostly Christian women) what their biggest concern is for the country right now, and by FAR the most common answer is the growing influence of Islam. I’d like to see this concern reflected in the GOP asap
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) <a href="https://twitter.com/conservmillen/status/1982518640387019249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
“I think it&#8217;s strange and dishonest. They are the entire reason we have a TSA. None of us like to take our shoes off or take our laptops out … you can thank Islam for that. I don&#8217;t see why we would want to minimize the negative impact on our culture and our country.&#8221;
Stuckey said her audience doesn&#8217;t know what to do when it comes to the infiltration of Islam in their communities.
&#8220;Of course we are all called to love the neighbors around us, but to see your neighborhoods change and the local church that&#8217;s been abandoned changed into a mosque, or a business center turned into an Islamic center, and we are told we are not supposed to care about that? We do care, and it scares us. Islam is incompatible with Western civilization. It&#8217;s about time we start seeing that and saying that.”
Charlie Kirk also thought Islam was a threat to the United States. Stuckey and Kirk had similar views on many topics &#8212; from Islam to family values, to the role politics plays in a Christian culture. She said she misses being able to fight alongside him in the culture war.
&#8220;Charlie was an anomaly,&#8221; Stuckey said. &#8220;He was a political strategist, he was a coalition builder. That&#8217;s not me. It might take 40 of us or four million of us to replace what one man was doing. If I can carry a small torch of what was the legacy of Charlie Kirk, I&#8217;m happy to do that.&#8221;
Stuckey said she carries Kirk&#8217;s legacy by pointing people to the Bible, and reminding them that ultimate victory is through Jesus.
&#8220;We know who wins in the end: it&#8217;s Jesus, he&#8217;s coming back,&#8221; Stuckey said. &#8220;And he&#8217;s not here yet, so we have work to do.&#8221;

The Daily Wire Talks With Allie Beth Stuckey

Allie Beth Stuckey Stays Relatable While Standing Firm In Her Beliefs

Podcast

Ireland has long been divided along religious lines — Protestant Northern Ireland and the Catholic Republic of Ireland, both of which hold that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, have often been at odds — but the nation&#8217;s new president, Catherine Connolly, omitted Jesus entirely from her Christmas message.
Connolly&#8217;s message, posted via X, was broadly mocked for its focus on things that had nothing to do with the Christmas season, much less the Christ whose birth is being celebrated. Instead, Connolly spoke of climate change, voiced support for a Palestinian state, and praised &#8220;diversity.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In this, my first Christmas message as President of Ireland I would like to wish each of you, here in Ireland and abroad, a very happy and joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year. <a href="https://t.co/V1Tbt6fIyH">pic.twitter.com/V1Tbt6fIyH</a>
— Catherine Connolly (@catherinegalway) <a href="https://twitter.com/catherinegalway/status/2003050645335707692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;In this, my first Christmas message as President of Ireland, I would like to wish each of you, here in Ireland and abroad, a very happy and joyful Christmas and a peaceful New Year,&#8221; Connolly began. &#8220;In these final days of December, as we pass through the Winter Solstice and witness the darkest day of the year, slowly but surely the days will lengthen again.&#8221;
&#8220;Christmas invites us to reflect on the values that truly matter: kindness, tolerance, respect for each other&#8217;s differences,&#8221; she continued, pausing to reflect on the number of people worldwide who were facing the impact of &#8220;interconnected crises&#8221; such as war, displacement, and climate change.
&#8220;In particular, we think of the people of Palestine, Ukraine, and Sudan, our own history marked by forced immigration and loss gives us a lived understanding of the brutal realities of dispossession, hunger, and war,&#8221; she said, thanking first responders and the military for their service through the holidays and the rest of the year and calling on everyone to raise their voices in celebration of &#8220;diversity&#8221; and &#8220;champion sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.&#8221;
Irish radio and television host Niall Boylan raised the <a href="https://x.com/Niall_Boylan/status/2003173527902441547">obvious point</a>: &#8220;I’m not a believer in religion myself but surely it might be respectful to give the birth of Jesus a quick mention. Suppose that’s not her thing. She’s only president of a Catholic country after all.&#8221;
&#8220;The word Jesus seems to be missing here,&#8221; a retired London police officer <a href="https://x.com/NormanBrennan/status/2003103503728689366">added</a>. &#8220;Along with the 1,200 Assassinated Innocent Israeli victims? Wouldn’t it be nice for once for political leaders to give a Christmas Message from the [heart] rather than a written one read from a Lectern? Many can read a script much better from the [heart].&#8221;

Inauguration of Ireland’s New President Connolly

Ireland’s New President Fails To Mention Jesus In Christmas Message, Praises ‘Diversity’

Ireland Divided Over How To Worship Jesus. The Current President Omits Him From Christmas Message

Catholic

Christian

Ireland

In 1988, after escaping socialism in Romania, I celebrated my first Christmas in America. It was a profound experience marked by joy, gratitude, and reflection. It was the first time I was able to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ without fear of being arrested by a totalitarian socialist regime. I enjoyed the freedom to attend church and the joy of discovering new cultural traditions. It marked a significant milestone in my journey toward freedom and renewal.
But before that journey was even an idea, I attended my first Socialist Party Christmas as a child. As we arrived, my father said very sternly, “We are at the Socialism Party headquarters, where Santa’s party will take place. Remember, only say yes or no, nothing more.”
The large reception room was decorated in red, and on each wall there was a large portrait of our “Beloved Leader” Nicolae Ceaușescu, flanked by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. On the left side of the room, a small Christmas tree stood, decorated with pictures of soldiers who had died, a picture of Ceaușescu, and topped with a big, red socialist star with a yellow hammer and sickle.
There were no angels, no silver Bethlehem stars, no nativity scenes.
Santa was a Socialist Party leader, and all the gifts had a Communist theme. The boys received Communist soldier toys or books about Ceaușescu. The girls received red-scarfed socialist dolls. The following year, Santa was replaced with Dictator Ceaușescu’s name, and no gifts were given.
<div id="attachment_1017011" style="width: 790px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1017011" class="size-large wp-image-1017011" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-3438665-780x576.jpg" alt="circa 1985: Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918 - 1989) and his wife Elena with a large group of children in national costume. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)" width="780" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-3438665-780x576.jpg 780w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-3438665-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-3438665-768x567.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-3438665.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" />circa 1985: Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918 &#8211; 1989) and his wife Elena with a large group of children in national costume. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)</div>
Now, years later, I’ve watched as the influence of socialist ideologies and policies has infiltrated and changed how Christmas is celebrated in America.
Since 1971, court cases, like <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/403/602/">Lemon v. Kurtzman</a> and <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/492/573/">Allegheny County v. ACLU</a>, have scrutinized the use of religious elements in public Christmas displays, often resulting in the restriction of nativity scenes on government property to avoid the perception that the government favors one religion over another.
The fear of appearing “too religious” or “exclusive” has transformed Christmas celebrations, shifting them toward a more secular, inclusive holiday focused on community and festive cheer rather than its core religious meaning. This secularization has diluted the profound significance of Christ’s birth.
As governments and institutions increasingly strip Christ from Christmas, our religious freedoms are slowly eroding – and could soon vanish entirely if we don&#8217;t stand against it.
Make no mistake. This is exactly what happened in Romania.
Ceaușescu&#8217;s rise to power in Romania was due to his charm, enthusiasm, anti-capitalist rhetoric, and how he portrayed himself as a man of the people. These qualities all resonated emotionally with citizens and framed socialism as a path to equality and justice.
As soon as Ceaușescu took power in Romania, his regime systematically attacked religious freedom by promoting atheism, controlling religious institutions, and demolishing churches. This created an environment of repression that stifled religious expression and contributed to the decline of organized religion in Romania during his rule.
Ceaușescu used <a href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71402.htm">Decree 177/1948</a> for further repression that significantly curtailed religious freedom in Romania. He established a framework for state control over religious organizations and practices.
New religious groups faced significant difficulties in obtaining official recognition. Religious literature, including Bibles and other texts, faced heavy censorship. Many publications were banned in socialist Romania or required state approval before distribution. Nativity scenes, crosses, and other religious imagery were often removed from public spaces, and churches faced restrictions on displaying decorations that highlighted the religious significance of Christmas.
Some families in socialist Romania, risking cruel punishment, jail time, or death, created small altars or displays in their homes featuring religious icons, candles, and nativity scenes, allowing them to express their faith privately.
While initially Ceaușescu’s anti-capitalist rhetoric resonated, the reality of his regime’s failures ultimately led to widespread disillusionment.
George Barna&#8217;s research recently found that <a href="https://www.arizonachristian.edu/2021/02/03/americas-thirst-for-socialism-plummets-in-wake-of-2020-election/">support for socialism</a> is growing in America. Socialism is now deeply rooted in New York City after the election of self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani.
And Mamdani is following Ceaușescu’s playbook. He strongly criticizes capitalism as corrupt and exploitative, while socialism is a path to equality and justice. He plays on the emotions of New Yorkers who struggle to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Mamdani hopes people will see the true reality of his policies years from now. He advocates for religious freedom by emphasizing the importance of maintaining a secular government approach to it. He frames religious freedom within the broader context of social justice, racial equality, economic justice, and immigrant rights. He believes in promoting government policies grounded in ethical and secular principles rather than religious doctrines.
<div id="attachment_1017055" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1017055" class="size-large wp-image-1017055" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250069091-768x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 04: Crowds gather for a look at a Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center on December 4, 2025 in New York City. The tree, which is an icon of New York City's holiday season, was lit up on the night of December 3 in midtown Manhattan. (Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250069091-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250069091-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-2250069091.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images</div>
The election of progressive candidates who openly identify with socialist principles in America has changed the political landscape, challenging traditional party norms and policies.
Socialism stands in direct opposition to God, replacing Him with an all-powerful government that demands total allegiance. It erodes our God-given religious freedoms and brands faithful Christians as obstacles to its agenda.
My own life bears witness to this truth. I fled a socialist regime in 1988, escaping the brutal oppression that crushed religious rights and silenced believers. Those same poisonous lies of socialism, now spreading rapidly in America, are gaining ground, especially among those who despise our nation&#8217;s founding principles and Judeo-Christian heritage.
We cannot remain silent. Those of us who have endured the horrors of socialism will never stop sounding the alarm. It is time to rise up and fiercely defend our freedoms before they are lost forever.
* * *
<a href="https://www.virginiaprodanbooks.com/">Virginia Prodan</a> is an international human rights attorney, best-selling author of the memoir “<a href="https://virginiaprodanbooks.com/get-the-book-2/">Saving My Assassin</a>,” and host of the “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/courageous-leadership-with-virginia-prodan/id1590554517">Courageous Leadership with Virginia Prodan</a>” podcast. She serves as an ambassador on the President’s Council for National Religious Broadcasters, a member of the Advisory Board of the American Christian Leaders for Israel, and an Allied Attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Christmas in Rockefeller Center – Season 2025

Don’t Let Socialism’s Red Star Top America’s Christmas Tree

Bible

Christmas

Communism

Democratic Socialism

Europe

Karl Marx

Marxism

New York City

Zohran Mamdani

VATICAN CITY, Dec 18 (Reuters) — Pope Leo replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan as leader of the Catholic Church in New York, the Vatican announced on Thursday, sidelining a prominent American church figure in a major shake-up of the country&#8217;s Catholic leadership.
Leo, the first American pope, appointed a relatively unknown cleric from Illinois, Bishop Ronald Hicks, to replace Dolan as leader of the nation&#8217;s second-largest Catholic diocese, home to some 2.8 million Church members.
&#8220;Hicks represents not just a new chapter for New York but for the American church as a whole,&#8221; said David Gibson, a U.S. church expert.
Dolan, Archbishop of New York since 2009 and a former president of the U.S. Catholic bishops&#8217; conference, offered to resign in February upon turning 75, as required by Church law. Cardinals often serve until 80, the mandatory retirement age.
He is regarded as a leading conservative among the U.S. bishops, who have become increasingly divided in recent years amid deepening political polarization. Cardinal Dolan delivered one of the invocations at Trump&#8217;s second inauguration and praised late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk as a &#8220;modern-day St. Paul,&#8221; sparking online criticism from a range of Catholics. Known for his gregarious personality, Dolan has been a frequent guest on &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends&#8221; and hosts his own weekly program on SiriusXM&#8217;s The Catholic Channel.
NEW ARCHBISHOP HAS &#8216;GREAT HEART&#8217; FOR LATINO COMMUNITY
At a press conference in New York a few hours after the Vatican&#8217;s announcement, Hicks, 58, gave some remarks in Spanish before speaking in English. He said he has a &#8220;great heart&#8221; for the Latino community, citing his experience as a former missionary in Latin America.
Hicks also repeated an earlier endorsement of the U.S. Catholic bishops&#8217; condemnation of President Donald Trump&#8217;s immigration crackdown.
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He said the United States should protect its borders but &#8220;also be a country that upholds human dignity, respect, (and) treating each other well.&#8221;
Hicks, leader of the Church in Joliet, Illinois, since 2020, has several similarities to Pope Leo. They are both originally from south Chicago suburbs but spent years as missionaries — Leo in Peru, while Hicks was in El Salvador.
&#8220;(Leo) is elevating to the most prominent American see an Illinois native very much like himself,&#8221; said Gibson, director of Fordham University&#8217;s Center on Religion and Culture.
Hicks joked at the press conference that he and Leo even have the same favorite pizza restaurant.
The Archdiocese of New York is a sprawling and influential institution, serving Catholics across Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, and in seven counties to the north across 296 parishes and hundreds of Catholic schools and hospitals.
Leo&#8217;s replacement of Dolan comes as the archdiocese is struggling to raise more than $300 million for expected settlements with survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy.
The archdiocese has entered mediation with some 1,300 alleged survivors, with Dolan announcing on December 8 that the archdiocese would cut its operating budget by 10%, lay off staff, and sell properties as it sought to raise funds for payouts.
Hicks will be installed in his new role on February 6, the New York archdiocese said in a statement. Dolan will remain as the temporary leader in the interim.
HICKS SEEN AS SUPPORTER OF POPE FRANCIS&#8217; REFORMS
Gibson said Hicks is &#8220;a soft-spoken Midwesterner who embraces the reformist line of Pope Francis and who is respected by many across the divides in a polarized church.&#8221;
The late Pope Francis, who led the Catholic Church for 12 years until his death in April, pursued a reform agenda and sought to make the Church more inclusive of diverse viewpoints, sometimes drawing pushback from conservative cardinals.
In an October pastoral letter to the roughly 520,000 Catholics in Joliet, Hicks did not address political issues or Church reforms and instead urged his people to focus on their prayer lives and spread their faith to others.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Chizu Nomiyama)
&nbsp;

FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican

Pope Leo Replaces New York’s Cardinal Dolan, A Leading Conservative Voice, In U.S. Church Shake-Up

New York

Pope Leo

U.S.

There&#8217;s no bigger sports stage in the United States than the NFL, and this season — thanks to a New England Patriots running back — the NFL shined a spotlight on the plight of persecuted Christians.
Once a year, players can choose any charitable cause to raise awareness and money for through a unique cleat design, which the players wear for their &#8220;My Cause, My Cleats&#8221; game. The Special Olympics, cancer foundations, and youth sports initiatives are all popular picks for players. But TreVeyon Henderson, who in recent years became a Christian, chose to highlight the Global Christian Relief and the work they do to help the 380 million persecuted Christians around the world.
&#8220;When you read the Bible and you look at what Jesus teaches us and warns us about the persecution we will face for following him &#8230; there&#8217;s not much awareness about it,&#8221; Henderson said. &#8220;It really just opened my eyes because the things Christ was warning about are still happening today.&#8221;
Global Christian Relief CEO Brian Orme knows Henderson from his days playing football at The Ohio State University. Orme has followed Henderson&#8217;s rookie year, and noticed earlier this season that the NFL star was sharing the Christian organization&#8217;s posts on X. It was the start of a strong relationship with Henderson and Global Christian Relief. The running back became a monthly donor — then told Orme he wanted to amplify the organization through &#8220;My Cause, My Cleats.&#8221;
Henderson worked with his wife to design the cleats he wore on Monday Night Football on December 1.
&#8220;The blood dripping on the cleats symbolizes the blood that has been shed on the cross, the blood that&#8217;s been shed from people who have lost their lives for pursuing and following Christ,&#8221; Henderson said.
<div id="attachment_1014423" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1014423" class="size-large wp-image-1014423" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Untitled-design-34.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: Global Christian Relief</div>
The other side of the cleats show people holding up the Cross.
&#8220;This symbolizes the faithfulness of the persecuted church. Despite the blood that&#8217;s being shed, the one thing they&#8217;re not losing is their faith.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“God has been using these stories to open my eyes and give me this desire to help however I can.”
In a moment when TreVeyon could&#8217;ve focused on himself, he turned his attention to persecuted Christians. 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/hIwqBu0YMv">pic.twitter.com/hIwqBu0YMv</a>
— Global Christian Relief (@GC_Relief) <a href="https://twitter.com/GC_Relief/status/1996362052894629909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
Global Christian Relief has seen greater exposure since Henderson&#8217;s endorsement.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a great example of what it looks like when influence meets conviction,&#8221; Orme told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Him leveraging his platform has a tremendous impact and builds credibility.&#8221;
Orme said Henderson showcasing his faith is part of a bigger movement the country has seen in recent months.
&#8220;God is choosing this moment through President Trump, Nicki Minaj, Bill Maher, all these different voices, to draw attention to what&#8217;s happening. He&#8217;s choosing this time to raise that awareness, and we&#8217;re praying that God will continue to create that momentum for the church.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nicki-minaj-puts-nigerias-christian-persecution-in-the-spotlight">Nicki Minaj Puts Nigeria’s Christian Persecution In The Spotlight</a>
In some parts of the world, Christians are being expelled from their families, imprisoned, and in some cases executed. Global Christian Relief provides safe housing, aid, Bibles, and legal support for Christians in the areas where it is most dangerous for them to profess their faith.
&#8220;We meet with believers in these regions, work through local churches to give them the resources that they need to not only survive, but to thrive as a life of the gospel.&#8221;
Henderson, like so many Christians in America, didn&#8217;t realize the extent of global Christian persecution. But now that he&#8217;s worked with Global Christian Relief and spread their message through football, he wants others to join the fight.
&#8220;I just hope here in the U.S., it encourages us, that it strengthens our faith to be more courageous, to be more bold, but to also have compassion for other brothers and sisters in Christ and to help however God may call you to help,&#8221; he said.
Henderson and the Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Orme said because of Henderson&#8217;s bold faith, the running back has a lot of new fans rooting for his success.
&#8220;TreVeyon, he&#8217;s a football player, but more than anything, he is a believer in Christ, and he is passionate,&#8221; Orme said. &#8220;Even just a few minutes of conversation with him, he&#8217;s gonna talk about his faith, he&#8217;s gonna talk about what God&#8217;s doing. He&#8217;s been a blessing to us.&#8221;

Credit: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images/Global Christian Relief

NFL Star Shares Gospel, Stands Up For Persecuted Christians

Football

Sports

“Pints with Aquinas” host Matt Fradd released a special Christmas episode on DailyWire+ on Wednesday, as he prepares to officially join The Daily Wire’s stacked podcast lineup in January.
Fradd was joined by Dr. Scott Hahn, a renowned theologian and Catholic apologist, and the two dove into many theological topics, ranging from the prophecies of Christ, to the story of the nativity and the importance of Mary.
Their discourse started out by addressing the awe-inspiring fact of Jesus Christ choosing to become fully human and beginning his earthly journey as an unborn child.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/pwa-ep-1?elementPosition=0&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowTy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Christmas with Dr. Scott Hahn | Tracing the Fulfillment of Prophecies</a>
“I was thinking about the scandal of the manger and I was reminded of St Augustine&#8217;s words,” Fradd said. “[Augustine] says, ‘He whom the heavens cannot contain the womb of one woman bore. She ruled our ruler. … She gave milk to our bread.’”
Hahn agreed that the concept is often overlooked by Christians. “Because it&#8217;s not just the scandal of the cross that Saint Paul speaks of in First Corinthians 1 and 2. It&#8217;s also the scandal of the incarnation that God becomes man, that God becomes a zygote, that God becomes an embryo, a newborn child, God in the manger, you know, and I can hear my Christian friends saying, ‘So what&#8217;s what&#8217;s the problem?’”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
“And I would suggest that they ought to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and maybe stop by Bethlehem because you&#8217;re surrounded by Jews and Muslims. And if you&#8217;re just wondering… what&#8217;s the scandal of God becoming flesh, God becoming a baby in the womb of the Blessed Virgin? You know, look at it through their eyes… we&#8217;re not even made in [the image and likeness of Allah] according to Islam.”
“And so we recognize in the Christian faith, especially in the Advent season, leading up to Christmas, that we&#8217;re dealing with a God who is personal, who is concerned about us as persons,” he added. “And it&#8217;s almost not fitting for a God that immense.”
Fradd and Hahn also discussed how people can celebrate a beautiful Christmas with their families.
“In Advent and Christmas I would say start small,” said Hahn. “I mean, when I think back to what we&#8217;ve done as a family, what my parents did as non-practicing Christians, every once in a while we began with an Advent wreath with the four candles … and then to gather around it each evening and  sing an Advent song or a Christmas carol.”
Hahn suggested reading scripture together and keeping it short, especially for parents with small children. “That has been an anchor for us as a family, and that is the Advent wreath,” he added.

Matt Fradd

Matt Fradd Releases Special Christmas Episode On DailyWire+, Dives Into Concept Overlooked By Christians

Matt Fradd Talks With Dr. Scott Hahn About Christmas, Mary, And Marriage In Heaven

Asked by a reporter about Catholics in Europe believing that Islam is a threat to Christianity and whether they were right, Pope Leo XIV <a href="https://x.com/SlimWiggy/status/1996425827454763287">responded</a> by saying they were often people who were against immigration and should be less fearful.
“All of the conversations that I had during my time both in Turkey and in Lebanon, including with many Muslims, were precisely concentrated on the topic of peace and respect of people of different religions,” Pope Leo stated, adding the understatement, “I know that as a matter of fact, that has not always been the case.”
“I know that in Europe, there are many times fears that are present, but oftentimes generated by people who are against immigration and trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race,” he declared. “And in that sense, I would say that we all need to work together. One of the values of this trip is precisely to raise the world’s attention to the possibility that dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible.”
The pope turned to Lebanon, which was a beautiful country in the 1960’s, but started to be torn apart with the entrance of the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Yasser Arafat.
As <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/op_eds/2025/05/06/lebanons-ossified-left-and-its-stance-on-palestine/">FDD</a> has noted:
<blockquote>
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded at a conference in East Jerusalem in 1964 under Jordanian sovereignty. The organization started recruiting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, training them, arming them, and launching attacks across the southern border with Israel, inviting Israeli reprisal. Lebanon’s Christian establishment was enraged, saw the Palestinian militias as a threat to the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, and sided with global capitalism against the PLO and the now-defunct Eastern Bloc. Christians thus became Lebanon’s Right.
Meanwhile, many Lebanese Muslims took the side of fellow Muslim Palestinians and their armed factions. These Lebanese connected with the world’s leftist organizations and governments and emerged as the country’s Left. By the time the Lebanese civil war ended in 1991, the Muslim Left had prevailed over the Christian Right.
</blockquote>
“I think one of the great lessons that Lebanon can teach to the world is precisely showing a land where Islam, Christianity are both present and are respected and that there is a possibility to live together, to be friends, “ the pope pronounced. “Stories, testimony, witnesses that heard even in the past two days of people helping each other, Christians with Muslims &#8212; both of them had their villages destroyed, for example &#8212; of saying, we can come together and work together. I think that those are lessons that would be important also that we heard in Europe or North America that we should perhaps be a little less fearful and look for ways of promoting authentic dialogue and respect.&#8221;
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Pope Leo’s perspective would seem to be at odds with Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who wrote in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/50582876">Hope for the World: To Unite All Things in Christ</a>, “If you really understand Islam, you understand that the Church really should be afraid of it.”

Pope Leo XIV makes statements on his return from his first foreign trip

Pope Leo XIV Criticizes European Christians Fearing Islam

Islam

World

Genocide doesn’t begin with weapons, it starts with words.
I saw it firsthand in Rwanda back in the 1990s.
“Are you Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa?” asked the teacher. A confused little girl was being reprimanded for not lining up properly. The question didn’t just divide a room, it foreshadowed a genocide.
The girl’s family had never spoken of tribes, they simply believed in letting children be children. That day, however, tribalism entered her life. Soon after, her parents were killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide that claimed nearly a million lives.
What I witnessed in Rwanda decades ago echoes in today’s digital age.
Today’s tribalism hides in plain sight and it doesn’t carry machetes, it carries hashtags. Tribalism thrives in echo chambers, where social media turns strangers into enemies. It grows through cancel culture, where conversations are replaced by condemnation. It sharpens its edge with purity tests, where one mistake erases forgiveness. These aren’t harmless trends, they’re cracks that can split nations. “Othering” people puts everyone at risk.
Division begins quietly, with whispers. It ends violently, with annihilation.
<h3>Warning Signs Are Flashing Again</h3>
Before the Holocaust, the Jews were first singled out by prejudice, then by propaganda, followed by policy, and finally punishment. 
In Cambodia, intellectuals were targeted. 
In Bosnia, ethnic lines became death sentences. 
In Rwanda, ethnic identity was weaponized.
But persecution isn’t just a history lesson. History’s warnings aren’t relics, they are roadmaps. And right now, those same patterns are resurfacing. Across the globe, from Nigeria to North Korea, Christians are being targeted for practicing their faith. In the first century, Christians were burned alive to light Rome’s streets; now, in Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sudan, and beyond, believers are killed en masse for the same confession of faith.
The numbers are sobering: Persecution is no longer a fringe issue. Today, more than 380 million Christians worldwide endure high levels of persecution, according to  <a href="https://www.opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/">Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List</a>. In Nigeria alone, <a href="https://ewtn.co.uk/article-56000-killed-in-nigerias-ethnic-and-religious-violence-christians-disproportionately-affected/">16,769 Christians</a> have been killed in the last four years, a tragic pattern that has persisted since 2009.
Genocide never begins with weapons; it starts with whispers, quiet laws, subtle exclusions. If we fail to remember, fail to speak, fail to act, history will not just repeat; it will escalate. And that’s precisely why I’ll be joining other faith leaders to address the growing threat to Christians at the <a href="https://www.washingtonpolicyinstitute.org/events/persecuted-and-prevailing-addressing-christian-persecution-in-the-modern-world/">Persecuted and Prevailing</a> panel at the Museum of the Bible on December 4.
The suffering of Christians, or any group, must never be reduced to a talking point. Persecution is not a partisan issue, it’s a human dignity issue. Freedom is fragile, and its defense must unite us beyond party lines.
We must teach the next generation that ignorance breeds indifference and persecution isn’t political. It’s about human dignity, justice, and the value of life.
As Hebrews 13:3 reminds us: “Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” That wisdom feels urgent today. Silence enables suffering, and ignoring persecution normalizes it.
<h3>Why I Speak Out</h3>
I speak not from theory, but from experience.
As a student in 1992, I lived in Russia as it staggered out of 70 years of enforced conformity under Communism. Freedom had returned, but trust was broken. Conversations carried a quiet grief, as an entire generation awoke to the truth that their God-given right to worship and think critically had been stolen. The devastation wasn’t only economic, it was spiritual and psychological.
That moment taught me that when lies become law and truth becomes treason, society unravels. Division doesn’t erupt overnight, it is cultivated through propaganda, fear, and silence. The lessons from Soviet Russia warn us that when words are weaponized, freedom dies long before the first shot is fired.
Years later, on the 10th anniversary of Rwanda’s genocide, I stood in villages still scarred by tribalism and visited prisons filled with remorseful men and women who’d been swept into the blindness of division. I met families led by children because their parents had been slaughtered. I worked to reunite Sudan’s “Lost Boys” with any family they had left after walking hundreds of miles to escape war. I remember their faces. I carry their stories. But my children and their entire generation don’t. They scroll headlines and hear fragments, but they don’t feel the weight of what I saw. That’s why I speak, and why we all should. If we don’t, history will whisper its warnings into an empty room.
<h3>The Choice Ahead</h3>
To Gen Z, educators, and parents, I say this: You hold the pen that writes tomorrow’s story. Will it be a tale of courage or complacency? Will we raise a generation that can spot propaganda, or one that repeats history’s mistakes?
Persecution anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere. Our classrooms should teach more than dates and facts, they should teach empathy, vigilance, and responsibility. This is not about scoring political points or comparing pain. It’s about defending the dignity of every human life.
When we ignore any kind of persecution, we erode the foundation of freedom itself. History is not just a record of the past — it’s a warning for the future. Silence is not neutral — it’s surrender. And the cost of indifference is always paid in human lives.
The choice is ours. The time is now.
* * *
<a href="https://kerryhasenbalg.com/">Kerry Hasenbalg</a> is a writer, speaker, and tireless advocate for faith, freedom, and human dignity. As the founder of <a href="https://www.becomingfoundation.org/">The Becoming Foundation</a> and former Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Kerry has shaped global child welfare policy and worked in post-conflict regions to advance healing and justice. Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kerryhasenbalg/">Instagram</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Rwanda Commemorates 31st Anniversary Of Tutsi Genocide

The Quiet Divide That Precedes Genocide – And Why We Must Act Now

Africa

Cancel Culture

Christians

genocide

Nigeria

Persecution

For decades, Christians in Africa have faced intense persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists. That persecution has especially focused on Christians in Nigeria and Sudan, two war-torn nations that President Donald Trump now wants to address.
Last month, Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, saying that &#8220;Christianity is facing an existential threat.&#8221; Then, last week, the president vowed to take more action to end the civil war in Sudan. Both countries are in the midst of upheaval and have large Christian populations, whose faith puts a target on their backs.
Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.state.gov/frequently-asked-questions-irf-report-and-countries-of-particular-concern">designation</a> of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern means that the United States will seek to actively address Nigeria&#8217;s violations of religious freedom and opens the door to potential economic penalties.
“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!&#8221; Trump said.
For Nigerian Christians, the Country of Particular Concern designation could be a useful tool to push the Nigerian government to take more action to protect Christians from Islamic extremists, according to Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors U.S., an organization that helps raise awareness and get aid to persecuted Christians.
The situation in Nigeria has gained attention thanks to the Trump administration, along with some unlikely cultural figures who have called out the persecution against Christians in the country, including left-wing political commentator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-exposes-nigerias-christian-genocide-in-47-seconds">Bill Maher</a> and pop star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nicki-minaj-teams-up-with-trump-will-highlight-christian-persecution-in-address-to-united-nations">Nicki Minaj</a>. Minaj even met with Trump administration officials about the issue earlier this month and raised awareness about Christian persecution in Nigeria in front of the United Nations.
The slaughter of Christians in Nigeria has become a full-blown genocide, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-can-the-world-still-deny-nigerias-christian-genocide">on-the-ground accounts and data from recent years</a>. Just this year, more than 7,000 Christians have reportedly been killed for their faith in Nigeria, including 250 Christians who were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/morning-brief-nigerian-christians-slaughtered-russia-standoff-illegal-alien-tiktoker-nabbed">killed</a> by Islamic extremists in the Yelwata village massacre in June. Research on worldwide Christian persecution suggests that Nigeria accounts for around 80% of the Christian deaths worldwide that come from persecution, according to Open Doors.
Nigeria&#8217;s government has denied that Christians in the country are being systematically targeted, saying, &#8220;There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria,&#8221; but it has agreed to discuss the issue with the United States. Last week, the Trump administration took more steps to address persecution in Nigeria, with War Secretary Pete Hegseth meeting with the country&#8217;s national security adviser.
&#8220;Under [President Trump&#8217;s] leadership, [the Department of War] is working aggressively with Nigeria to end the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists,&#8221; Hegseth <a href="https://x.com/SecWar/status/1991908064912617733">said</a>.
Brown told The Daily Wire that Nigerian Christians &#8220;would certainly say that the Nigerian government has not done enough to protect the freedoms and provide safety for the men and women on the ground there.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1006245" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006245" class="wp-image-1006245 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2244444115-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2244444115-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2244444115-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2244444115-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2244444115.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />A general view of a catholic Church in Maiduguri on November 3, 2025. (Photo by Audu MARTE / AFP) (Photo by AUDU MARTE/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Some media <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/10/2/no-bill-maher-there-is-no-christian-genocide-in-nigeria">outlets</a> have also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgqlzkdeeqjo">scrutinized</a> claims of targeted violence toward Christians in Nigeria, writing that the violence in the African nation is too complicated to say that Christians are being systemically wiped out. But Brown told The Daily Wire that the reports of violence against Christians in Nigeria are not exaggerating the extent of the situation.
&#8220;These are realities on the ground that Christians are facing. In Nigeria, this has really been a multiple-year trend,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;I was with a pastor from Nigeria a couple weeks ago, and he said for the better part of 15 years, he&#8217;s been trying to tell this story to the world, and he&#8217;s been just so thankful that the collective attention finally is seeming to be raised.&#8221;
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Nigeria received more attention earlier this month when more than 300 students and 12 staff members were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/21/africa/students-kidnapped-nigerian-catholic-school-intl">kidnapped</a> from a Catholic boarding school by armed men. That mass kidnapping came shortly after 25 girls were abducted from a government boarding school in Nigeria and after an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gunmen-attack-church-nigeria-killing-two-kidnapping-others-2025-11-19/">attack</a> on a church, where at least two people were killed, and the pastor was abducted.
<div id="attachment_1006343" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006343" class="wp-image-1006343 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247525679-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247525679-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247525679-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247525679-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247525679.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />A pair of shoes is seen inside a student dormitory at St. Mary&#8217;s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwarra local government, Niger state, on November 23, 2025. Gunmen raided the school early on November 21, taking 303 children and 12 teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria. (Photo by Ifeanyi Immanuel Bakwenye / AFP via Getty Images)</div>
Each year, Open Doors releases a &#8220;World Watch List&#8221; which shows where Christians face the most persecution. In its 2025 list, released in January, Nigeria was near the top at 7th. Open Doors uses research teams to follow news updates in countries around the world and on-the-ground relationships with Christians in numerous countries, according to Brown.
Islamic extremists with terror groups, such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, are targeting Christians mainly in the country&#8217;s northern regions, but the violence isn&#8217;t completely centered on Christians. Muslims with different ethnicities from the terrorists are also killed for political and religious reasons.
&#8220;There are so many different contributing factors that are at play here. It&#8217;s a complicated situation,&#8221; said Brown. But he added that the nuance doesn&#8217;t mean the world should look past the violence targeting Christians.
&#8220;Some have said because it&#8217;s nuanced and complicated, the conclusion we should draw is Christian persecution is not happening. We would look at those same nuances and complexities and say no, it&#8217;s an oversimplification to say that Christian persecution is not part of the fabric of what&#8217;s being woven here,&#8221; Brown said.
Nigerian Christians continue to hold their faith as they face threats and violence from radical Islamic terrorists, and they are hopeful that President Trump&#8217;s focus on their plight will result in positive steps being taken toward religious freedom. When Trump designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, Brown said that Nigerian Christian leaders had &#8220;an incredible sense of gratitude and thankfulness,&#8221; but added that they also recognized there was a lot of work to be done to address Christian persecution in the African nation.
The Trump administration is not just seeking to end the persecution of Christians in Nigeria — it also has its sights set on ending the war in Sudan, a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of numerous Christians and Muslims. Like in Nigeria, the violence against Christians in Sudan spans decades and is perpetrated by radical Islamic extremists.
Gasim Domkog, a pastor who grew up in Sudan before coming to America, told The Daily Wire that the violence against Christians has been nonstop as the country has gone through regime changes and civil war.
&#8220;We went through a lot. I personally went through a lot,&#8221; Domkog said, adding that many members of his own family have been killed by the Islamic extremist violence.
&#8220;It&#8217;s very rare to find anybody from Sudan that has not had people from their family that has been killed,&#8221; added Domkog, who now leads an Arabic-speaking church in Nashville and ministers to Christians who came out of Islam.
Along with facing intense persecution for their faith, Sudanese Christians are also affected by the civil war that has torn the country apart. Sudan&#8217;s current civil war, which started in 2023, is fought between the government and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful Islamic militant group seeking to gain control of the country. More than 150,000 people have been killed in the war, and over 12 million have been forced to flee their homes.
<div id="attachment_1006235" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006235" class="wp-image-1006235 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2245123877-840x576.jpg" alt="" width="840" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2245123877-840x576.jpg 840w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2245123877-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2245123877-768x527.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2245123877.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />AL DABBAH, SUDAN &#8211; NOVEMBER 8: Sudan&#8217;s Sovereignty Council Chairman and Army Commander Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visits the newly established Al-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, Northern State, where tens of thousands of Sudanese have taken refuge after being displaced by clashes following the Rapid Support Forces&#8217; takeover of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
Sudan ranks 5th on the Open Doors &#8220;World Watch&#8221; list of countries where Christians face the most persecution. Violence against Christians in Sudan is perpetrated by the radical Islamic extremist groups that vie for control of the country. Often, these groups are controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The country has been unstable since the early 1980s, when civil war broke out and continued until 2005. Following more than 20 years of conflict, South Sudan, which is made up mostly of Christians, broke away from Sudan and formed its own country in 2011.
Similar to the Muslim extremists in Nigeria, terrorists in Sudan also target Muslims who have ethnic differences. In the war-torn region of Darfur, militants have gone door-to-door killing thousands of people. Evidence of the mass killings could be seen from <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/blood-visible-space-sudan-shows-evidence-darfur-genocide/story?id=126985544">satellite images</a>, which showed blood-soaked neighborhoods in Darfur. The killings took place immediately after the Rapid Response Forces took control of the city. Most of the people killed in Darfur are Muslims and are targeted because they have darker skin, Domkog told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;At first, the jihadists were using religious war as holy war, but now they&#8217;re focusing on ethnicity,&#8221; Domkog said. &#8220;They say that if you&#8217;re not of Arab descent, you need to be killed. Now, they&#8217;re killing their own people.&#8221;
&#8220;The agenda was either to become Muslim and obey their rules and to be under Sharia Law or they will get rid of you, and that&#8217;s what they&#8217;re doing,&#8221; he added.
<div id="attachment_1006239" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1006239" class="wp-image-1006239 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247191335-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247191335-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247191335-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247191335-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2247191335.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />A Sudanese woman who fled El-Fasher in Darfur carries jerrycans of water at the Al-Afad camp for displaced people in the town of Al-Dabba, northern Sudan, on November 21, 2025. (Photo by Ebrahim Hamid / AFP) (Photo by EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
President Trump <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-announces-us-making-new-effort-end-war/story?id=127683382">said</a> last week that after meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he has agreed that the United States will &#8220;do something very powerful having to do with Sudan.&#8221;
The war will be a complicated web for the Trump administration to address. Evidence presented by human rights groups <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-congress-can-help-curb-the-uaes-role-in-sudans-crisis/#:~:text=The%20UAE%27s%20role%20in%20perpetuating,and%20supplies%20as%20humanitarian%20aid." target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> that the United Arab Emirates is the main backer of the Rapid Response Forces, while other nations, including China, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and Russia, send weapons and ammunition to both sides of the war. Trump acknowledged that the war in Sudan will not be an easy fix, but added that he believes it&#8217;s important to seek peace in the country.
&#8220;I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;But I just see how important that is &#8230; and we&#8217;re going to start working in Sudan.&#8221;

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Trump’s Next Peace Push Focuses On Nigeria And Sudan, Where Christians Are Killed By The Thousands

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The Ohio state House of Representatives passed a bill along party lines last week that would allow public schools to teach on the &#8220;positive influence of religion,&#8221; particularly Christianity, in history courses.
House Bill 486, titled the &#8220;<a href="https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb486">Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act</a>,&#8221; would codify teachers&#8217; rights under the state constitution to instruct their students on how Christianity positively shaped U.S. history, according to one of the bill&#8217;s sponsors, state Rep. Gary Click, NBC Columbus affiliate WCMH <a href="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/politics/charlie-kirk-bill-to-teach-positively-about-christianity-passes-ohio-house/">reported</a>.
&#8220;The teaching of the historical, positive impact of religion on American history is consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. An accurate and historical account of the influence of Judeo-Christian values on the freedom and liberties ingrained in our culture is imperative to reducing ignorance of American history, hate, and violence within our society,&#8221; the bill states. &#8220;Accurate historical instruction regarding verifiable, historical impacts of religion on American history is factual and is not proselytization or a violation of the First Amendment.&#8221;
The text of House Bill 486 provides examples of how public school teachers can teach on the positive influence of Christianity, such as the faith of the pilgrims, the clear presence of Christianity in the Mayflower Compact, the appeal to divine power in the Declaration of Independence, and Christianity&#8217;s influence on the U.S. Constitution. The bill is named after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, a devout and outspoken Christian, who was assassinated while speaking on the Utah Valley University campus on September 10.
“Charlie was a committed Christian, whose life and work will serve as a testament to the power of conservative ideals combined with a legacy of faith for generations to come,” Click said.
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All 62 Republicans in the Ohio House voted in favor of the legislation, while all 27 Democrats opposed it. It now heads to the state Senate, where Republicans hold a 24-9 majority.
“It’s essential that we highlight the positive influence religion has had throughout our history – uniting communities, enriching our shared values, and safeguarding our First Amendment rights as Americans to speak and worship freely,” said Republican state Rep. Michael Dovilla.
The bill was criticized by education and civil liberties groups and advocates for the separation of church and state. The Ohio American Civil Liberties Union <a href="https://www.acluohio.org/news/house-bill-486-opponent-testimony/">argued</a> that the bill &#8220;is obviously designed to paint Christianity in the most positive light while deliberately avoiding the negative.&#8221;
&#8220;The ACLU of Ohio submits HB 486 is, at a minimum, unneeded,&#8221; the organization added. &#8220;Politicians leaning on schools and universities to teach their version of Christianity and religion is an idea rejected centuries ago, and for good reasons.&#8221;
Gabe Guidarini, chairman of the Ohio College Republican Federation, pushed back on the criticism, arguing, “This bill does not impose a belief system, it simply allows teachers and professors to include historical truths that have too often been neglected — how faith shaped the resolve of the pilgrims, guided our Founders’ convictions, inspired movements that provided us the liberties we enjoy today and informed the moral fabric that has bound our republic together since its birth.&#8221;

Charlie Kirk-Inspired Bill Allowing Schools To Teach Christianity’s ‘Positive Influence’ Nears Law

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