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Are Christians More Compassionate Towards Immigrants?

by Melanie Weldon-Soiset 06-19-2009 | 1:30pm
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I am heartened by a new analysis of data from a 2006 Pew Research Center poll, which indicates that people who go to church more often have more compassionate immigration views. Benjamin Knoll, writing in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, observes that support for either guest worker or eventual legalization legislation (versus immediate deportation) increases by 7.3 percent as church participation moves from never attending church to attending more than once per week. Such a percentage is comparable to the influence that age (10.1 percent) or education (6.1 percent) has on one's immigration opinions. Perhaps even more surprising is that self-professed churchgoers are overwhelmingly from the same Republican Party that has often voiced the most vehement opposition to immigration reform. What accounts for this divergence from the GOP platform?

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Knoll himself believes that churchgoers are listening to their denominational leaders, who extensively support more amenable immigrant legislation. Editorialist Jeffrey Weiss adds that perhaps these individuals are heeding the multiple calls of the Bible to welcome the stranger (Exodus 23:9, Deuteronomy 24:17-22, Hebrews 13:2, among others). I would like to suggest another possibility: Maybe Christians from all political backgrounds are finally learning to trust God and to overcome the fear that has repeatedly arisen in our country's history as new waves of immigrants have landed on American soil.

Surely the 19th-century political cartoons below seem ludicrous to us today, as we now enjoy the good fruits of living among our neighbors of Irish and Italian descent (click the image for a larger view):

800px-italianpopulationmascott18881

Fear has not only kept immigrants in the shadows, but it has inhibited American citizens from approaching our neighbors of a different culture and language. I encourage believers who secretly express more compassionate views to claim boldness and live their faith publicly. Visit our new Web site, www.faithandimmigration.org, for resources on how to begin honest dialogue regarding a Christian vision for immigration reform. Only through honesty with ourselves and our current social reality can we pursue solutions that both protect our country from real dangers and welcome strangers who seek the same God-given dignity that we as citizens seek.

Melanie Weldon-Soiset is a summer associate at Sojourners.

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by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 8:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

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by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 6:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

{Name}

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 1:11pm

I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants. I know of a number of people who have voted both ways in different elections depending on the most important issues of the times. Several families I know who tend to vote Republican have also been the ones to be foster/adoptive parents to special needs children. Talking the talk is one thing; walking the walk is something else. I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families.

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 8:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

Speer

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by: JamesM

06-19-2009 @ 3:17pm

"I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants." Ando

I think that it is hardly a sterotype when their party has provided a welcoming platform for some of the most vociferous and bigoted anti-immigrant figures on the political landscape.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families." Ando

I would be surprised.

by: justintime

06-19-2009 @ 5:13pm

Cheap labor, anti union Republicans welcome desperate immigrants to America.

Why is this a surprise?

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 6:49pm

It was interesting to hear Obama say that we are a nation of laws and that we need to protect our borders, and that the "illegal" immigrants here should learn English and need to go to the back of the line when it comes to citizenship. They should also pay a fine for being here illegally. Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say.

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 1:11pm

I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants. I know of a number of people who have voted both ways in different elections depending on the most important issues of the times. Several families I know who tend to vote Republican have also been the ones to be foster/adoptive parents to special needs children. Talking the talk is one thing; walking the walk is something else. I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families.

by: JamesM

06-19-2009 @ 3:17pm

"I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants." Ando

I think that it is hardly a sterotype when their party has provided a welcoming platform for some of the most vociferous and bigoted anti-immigrant figures on the political landscape.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families." Ando

I would be surprised.

by: JamesM

06-21-2009 @ 7:47pm

"Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say." Ando

Not really. If Republicans had been saying that, comprehensive immigration reform would have passed in 2007.

by: justintime

06-19-2009 @ 5:13pm

Cheap labor, anti union Republicans welcome desperate immigrants to America.

Why is this a surprise?

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 6:49pm

It was interesting to hear Obama say that we are a nation of laws and that we need to protect our borders, and that the "illegal" immigrants here should learn English and need to go to the back of the line when it comes to citizenship. They should also pay a fine for being here illegally. Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say.

by: JamesM

06-21-2009 @ 7:47pm

"Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say." Ando

Not really. If Republicans had been saying that, comprehensive immigration reform would have passed in 2007.

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 6:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

{Name}

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by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 1:11pm

I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants. I know of a number of people who have voted both ways in different elections depending on the most important issues of the times. Several families I know who tend to vote Republican have also been the ones to be foster/adoptive parents to special needs children. Talking the talk is one thing; walking the walk is something else. I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families.

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 1:11pm

I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants. I know of a number of people who have voted both ways in different elections depending on the most important issues of the times. Several families I know who tend to vote Republican have also been the ones to be foster/adoptive parents to special needs children. Talking the talk is one thing; walking the walk is something else. I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families.

by: JamesM

06-19-2009 @ 3:17pm

"I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants." Ando

I think that it is hardly a sterotype when their party has provided a welcoming platform for some of the most vociferous and bigoted anti-immigrant figures on the political landscape.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families." Ando

I would be surprised.

by: JamesM

06-19-2009 @ 3:17pm

"I think that it's a stereotype of people that, just because they tend to vote Republican, they're less likely to welcome immigrants." Ando

I think that it is hardly a sterotype when their party has provided a welcoming platform for some of the most vociferous and bigoted anti-immigrant figures on the political landscape.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Republican families are just as or more likely to adopt special needs children as Democratic families." Ando

I would be surprised.

by: justintime

06-19-2009 @ 5:13pm

Cheap labor, anti union Republicans welcome desperate immigrants to America.

Why is this a surprise?

by: justintime

06-19-2009 @ 5:13pm

Cheap labor, anti union Republicans welcome desperate immigrants to America.

Why is this a surprise?

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 6:49pm

It was interesting to hear Obama say that we are a nation of laws and that we need to protect our borders, and that the "illegal" immigrants here should learn English and need to go to the back of the line when it comes to citizenship. They should also pay a fine for being here illegally. Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say.

by: ando

06-19-2009 @ 6:49pm

It was interesting to hear Obama say that we are a nation of laws and that we need to protect our borders, and that the "illegal" immigrants here should learn English and need to go to the back of the line when it comes to citizenship. They should also pay a fine for being here illegally. Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say.

by: JamesM

06-21-2009 @ 7:47pm

"Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say." Ando

Not really. If Republicans had been saying that, comprehensive immigration reform would have passed in 2007.

by: JamesM

06-21-2009 @ 7:47pm

"Sounds a bit like what a Republican might say." Ando

Not really. If Republicans had been saying that, comprehensive immigration reform would have passed in 2007.

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 6:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

{Name}

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 6:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

{Name}

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 8:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

Speer

magnetic calendars
security cameras
foundation repair dallas tx

by: RonaldClark10

09-28-2009 @ 8:50am

Where can i have more info on this ?

Regards

Speer

magnetic calendars
security cameras
foundation repair dallas tx