Nicki Minaj, the Latest Artist to Tangle With the Catholic Church

Controversy is a funny thing. It can either fuel success or stunt it...or both. In the case of religious controversy, it's truly a double-edged sword for all parties involved. Rapper Nicki MInaj and her alter-ego "Roman Zolanski" are the latest people to draw fire from the Catholic church for their performance. At the Grammy awards last Sunday Minaj, debuting her alter-ego on stage for the first time, performed her song "Roman Holiday," and the performance which included a confessional, an exorcism and levitation angered the more conservative of the Catholic flock.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League said, "..what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy. It's bad enough that Catholics have to fight for their rights vis-a-vis a hostile administration in Washington without also having to fend off attacks in the entertainment industry." But whether or not Minaj's act went "too far" is a debatable proposition, and the ensuing coverage of not only the performance but of Donahue's reaction to it, could only help to keep people watching clips, further promoting the song and Minaj herself.

That's the inherent risk that protesters take whenever the decide to fight against an artist for their material. "The Last Temptation of Christ" was slammed by Catholics and Christians everywhere as being sacrilegious, and yet that didn't hurt box office receipts, nor did it prevent critics from finding much to applaud in the film. If anything, an easy argument could be made the fire storm over the film only helped to increase ticket sales and raise public awareness of the film.

Of course, there are chances of negative consequences for any artist who creates controversial material as well. As Donahue went on to say, "The net effect, however, will only embolden Catholics, as well as their friends in other faith communities." If the communities involved do actually unite and boycott, the financial viability of the material may come into question. If that becomes the case, retailers like Wal-Mart have shown a reluctance to carry overly controversial material in their stores, which means a giant portion of the potential audience is left in the dust.

Ultimately though, the fact remains that as long as people hold different values, controversy will exist. As long as there are religions, there will be those who use religious iconography and material and put their own spin on it; many times to the dissatisfaction of the very religions they are commenting on. The real question will always be who the public sides with more: the protesters or the artists.