By Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich

On June 5, gunmen opened fire on worshippers at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Ondo, a southwestern state in Nigeria. At last count, at least 80 people were reported to have been killed in the attack, with many others wounded.

Although it is unclear who is responsible for the massacre, “The attack is undoubtedly terrorist in nature,” according to senior Africa analyst Eric Humphery-Smith in an interview with The Associated Press. “The scale and brutality suggest it was carefully planned rather than impulsive.”

This brutal attack follows the June 2 release of the annual U.S. Department of State Report on International Religious Freedom. Yet to be announced, however, are the State Department’s designations of nations engaging in or tolerating religious persecution. These designations are critical foreign policy tools that uphold and reinforce the U.S. commitment to advancing and defending religious freedom.

In December of 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for the first time. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) is defined as a nation that has “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

However, in November 2021, ahead of a visit to Nigeria, Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Nigeria’s designation as a CPC and did not include it on the Special Watch List, which the State Department defines as a country that does not “meet all of the CPC criteria but engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom.”

For defenders of religious freedom, this decision by the Biden administration was an outrage.

Former Representative Frank Wolf, a champion of religious freedom, said of the decision, “It’s a victory for the terrorists – it’s a defeat for anyone concerned with human rights and religious freedom.”

Similarly “appalled” at Blinken’s removal of Nigeria from the CPC list was the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was created by the International Religious Freedom Act to provide policy recommendations to the government. The Commission urged the State Department to consult the “facts presented in its own reporting” and “reconsider its designations.”

Secretary Blinken should heed the Commission’s advice this time around.

Since 2009, the Commission has recommended that Nigeria be designated as a CPC, and in its latest Annual Report, advised that the designation be reinstated.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with 53.5 percent of its people identifying as Muslim and 45.9 percent identifying as Christian. Nigeria is also one of the most dangerous countries on the continent.

Religious tension is a driving factor of violence in Nigeria. However, criminal activity, terrorism, violent clashes over resources (particularly between the majority Muslim Fulani herdsmen and Christians), and ethnic tensions also contribute to the horrific killings, kidnappings, and brutality plaguing Nigerian communities.

Some of the world’s deadliest and most formidable jihadist groups operate in Nigeria. According to the State Department Report, “Terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa (ISIS-WA), attacked population centers and religious targets, including churches and mosques.”

As Christian Association of Nigeria President Reverend Samson Ayokunle explained, kidnappings are a source of profit for criminals and religious institutions are targeted. Ayokunle said that terrorist groups are “ferociously attacking churches, killing worshippers, and kidnapping for ransom … these criminal acts have become a lucrative business.”

Last year, at least 13 religious leaders were kidnapped for ransom and hundreds of school children were abducted from Salihu Tanko Islamic School and  Bethel Baptist High School.

Of additional concern are the 12 northern states that enforce Islamic Shari’a laws alongside customary and civil laws. As the State Department Report affirmed, “In some states with sharia penal codes, blasphemy or religious insult is a crime that may incur a fine, imprisonment, or in some cases, the death penalty.”

Citing multiple sources, the State Department further confirmed that the Nigerian government has not done enough to quell the violence.

The religious component of the violence in Nigeria cannot be dismissed. This fear inhibits the ability of Nigerians to worship freely.

Last weekend’s attack in Ondo state, which is known for being one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria, raised concerns that the violence is spreading.

In the United States, the right to worship freely is often called America’s first freedom. It is a necessary component of U.S. foreign policy and our commitment to creating a more peaceful world.

History has shown that governments and societies that champion religious freedom are safer, more prosperous, and secure. Our commitment to protect this fundamental human right is both a moral necessity and a national security imperative.

On June 2, the U.S. Department of State released the 2021 International Religious Freedom Report. The more than 2,000-page report is a comprehensive, fact-based account of nearly 200 countries and territories around the world that is made publicly available for use by all guardians of religious freedom, including governments, religious communities, and activists.

For more than two decades, the International Religious Freedom Report has been an essential tool for the United States to advance and defend the universal right to worship freely.

Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the State Department is required to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the status of religious freedom in countries, government policies violating religious beliefs and practices, and U.S. policies that promote religious freedom.

As former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously said of the report, “Its very existence is evidence of our strong resolve to defend human dignity.”

Three central themes emerged from the 2021 Report.

First, discriminatory laws and policies are used by foreign governments to abuse their own people. For example, excessive prison sentences and home raids target people of faith in Russia, the Taliban and ISIS-K threaten and attack religious minorities in Afghanistan, and the Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minorities.

Second, the report found that the rise of intolerance and hatred in societies fuels violence and conflict. According to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, record-high levels of antisemitic incidents took place in Germany and the United Kingdom in 2020. In a separate report, the Commission stated that 82 percent of Jews in Sweden, 85 percent in Poland, 86 percent in Belgium, and 95 percent in France said that antisemitism is a “very big” problem.

Lastly, the partnership and collaboration among members of civil society, governments, and multilateral partners have been important to making progress in advancing and defending religious freedom.

Using the findings of the report, the president is also required to designate any nation that has “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” as a “Country of Particular Concern.” Nations that are severe violators of religious freedom but don’t meet all of the CPC criteria are designated as “Special Watch List Countries.”

On Nov. 15, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern.

The Special Watch List designations included Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua. As I previously wrote, the administration removed Nigeria, but in the wake of the ongoing violence, it should be redesignated as one of the world’s most serious violators of religious freedom.

The Biden administration’s updates to these designations, which have yet to be released, will be watched closely by religious liberty advocates and perpetrators of persecution alike.

Tragically, as evidenced by the latest International Religious Freedom Report, religious oppression is a daily reality for millions of people of faith around the world.

The United States plays a consequential role in exposing these atrocities so that violators of religious freedom can be held accountable. America will not sit back as people are targeted, punished, and persecuted for their faith.