{"id":1000,"date":"2011-08-17T11:58:56","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T15:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beliefbeat\/?p=1000"},"modified":"2011-08-17T11:58:56","modified_gmt":"2011-08-17T15:58:56","slug":"where-do-white-evangelicals-stand-on-strict-state-immigration-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beliefbeat\/2011\/08\/where-do-white-evangelicals-stand-on-strict-state-immigration-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Where Do White Evangelicals Stand on Strict State Immigration Laws?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Religious leaders and faith-based groups have taken an active role in the debate over immigration reform vs. enforcement \u2013 some louder than others, some conspicuously quiet. The new flare-up over Alabama’s extreme new law<\/a>\u00a0is no exception.<\/p>\n

Catholic clergy tend to lead the charge against such harsh immigration enforcement policies<\/a>, given that a) U.S. Catholics have a tradition of championing social justice issues;\u00a0b) the church’s hierarchical nature makes it easier for the leadership to make clear statements on polarizing issues; and c) immigrant groups, including Mexicans and Filipinos, are vital members of this international body. Plus, it’s the largest Christian denomination in America** and within Arizona, one of several states taking it upon themselves to drive out illegal immigrants.<\/p>\n

But where do evangelicals, the next largest umbrella group of American Christians (and by far the biggest in Alabama), stand on this trend? This is a glaring question mark in the coverage \u2013 painfully punctuated in Alabama, where Catholic and mainline Protestant clergy have sued to stop the strict law signed by Gov. Robert Bentley,\u00a0a Southern Baptist deacon and Sunday School teacher, GetReligion has observed<\/a>. The Associated Press reported on the Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution in favor of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in June<\/a>\u00a0— a week after Bentley signed his state’s law, coincidentally? —\u00a0but\u00a0major outlets like \u00a0The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0haven’t delved too deeply into what the SBC and other predominantly white evangelical groups say about Alabama’s legislation.<\/p>\n

I’ve done some digging, and here are three stories from smaller outlets that explore this evangelical conundrum:<\/p>\n