Dr. Paolo Naso is a retired professor of political science, an active leader in the Waldensian Church in Italy, and a prolific author. H’s lecture is tentatively entitled “The World-Wide Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.” Dr. Fred Johnson III, the Guy Vander Jagt Endowed Professor of History at Hope College, will respond to the lecture.

In this season of intense political and religious tension, Paolo Naso reminds us of the importance of Martin Luther King’s witness–not just in the USA but beyond.

Co-Sponsored by the American Waldensian Society and Western Theological Seminary.

Paolo Naso is a retired professor of Political Science at La Sapienza University of Rome and an RCA global mission partner. The son of a Waldensian pastor, he is an active member of the Waldensian Church in Italy. During his long and distinguished career, he directed various programs for the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI), the last of which was Mediterranean Hope—an organization supporting refugees and migrants. A prolific author, Naso published a recognized biography of Martin Luther King and, on the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the Waldensian movement, he edited volume IV of The History of the 

Waldensians. He has also contributed to other collective works, such as Methodists in Italy and The Global History of Italian Protestantism, soon to be published by E.J. Brill.

Fred L. Johnson III is the Guy VanderJagt ‘53 Endowed Professor of History at Hope College and a graduate of Western Theological Seminary.