The Interfaith Equality Coalition is an alliance of faith communities

working together to bring equality, justice, and dignity for all people

through our compassionate witness, education, and advocacy.

 

February 8, 2017

Dear Governor C. L. Butch Otter,

We, the undersigned clergy and faith representatives of Idaho, disagree that our great state desires to give preference to Christians as refugees over people of other, or of no, faith. The Christian voices among us, surrounded by our brothers and sisters of other religions, decry continuing Christian exceptionalism in our country as if Christian lives and perspectives are more valued, and Christianity as a target of war and genocide is somehow more grievous, than when other peoples are also targeted by the evils of war, nationalism, and religious extremism.

Our country, our state, and our faith come together in a confluence of shared values of justice that is impartial, equality that sees the interconnected nature of all life, and care that responds to the needs of others—and most particularly those who exist on the margins of our society: the tired, the hungry, and the poor. Such plight knows no boundary of faith, race, gender, sexuality, or class.

We are inspired to see the Statue of Liberty welcome the stranger to our shore; the Great Seal of Idaho give lady justice a central place in our story; and the Bible teach us that love casts out fear and has no limits. Love is commanded by God to our neighbors, to strangers, and even to our enemies.

There are certainly Christian refugees who must be welcomed. However, their welcome is not because they are Christians but because they are refugees from war and targets of hate. These are those whom our country exists to welcome. And just as many years ago the native populations of Idaho welcomed a bewildered Lewis and Clark and helped them on their journey, we yearn to continue a proud Idaho tradition of finding those whom tempest and temper have flung out into the wilderness, and give them home.

It is no mistake that when the lawyer wished to put Jesus to the test on whom we must love by asking “who is my neighbor,” Jesus did not point to one of his own but told a story about one of a hated ethnic and religious group: a Samaritan. In our culture, we have lost the scandal of this parable. The neighbor we must love does not end up being one of our country, or one of our religious background, but becomes the one we feel least comfortable with and whom we least wish to welcome. It is because of this heritage that we cannot accept seeing our faith, our state, or our country be any less than the gift of freedom for all and refuge to any in need. To this we were called by our God, our heritage, and the better angels of our nature.

We implore you, as the leader of our state, to use your voice on behalf of our shared values, our faithful congregations, and our beautifully diverse communities and assert the need to welcome all refugees who flee the terrors of war—regardless of whatever partiality we may feel.

Sincerely,
We, the undersigned members of the Interfaith Equality Coalition, and other aligned signatories