Parables and Politics

Abstract

The passage of a stringent immigration law in Alabama in 2011 makes relevant the juxtaposition of clergy and congregant attitudes and behaviors toward illegal immigrants as related to Biblical teachings that require charity to aliens. In order to examine the relationship between religious attitudes and illegal immigration, approximately 426 members of the Alabama clergy completed an anonymous survey in which they provided information about their own and their perceptions about their churches' attitudes and actions toward illegal immigration and their responses to the new law. While congregant political philosophy and ethnicity of congregants create some differences in outlook toward illegal immigration, the great majority of churches continue to provide outreach, regardless of political viewpoint.