Running Head: DIVERSITY EXPERIENCE TWO 1

Immigration and Christian Beliefs: Diversity Experience Two

Hannah L. Behr

University of South Carolina

November 13, 2017

DIVERSITY EXPERIENCE TWO 2

A. Description of the Experience

For my second diversity experience, I attended the annual Bernardin Lecture held by the

Department of Religious Studies at the University of South Carolina. This was the 18th

lecture of this particular event. These annual lectures began in 1999 and will continue to be

held every year in honor of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. Bernardin was a student at

the university and a leader in the Roman Catholic Church. At this lecture, Dr. Kristin Heyer,

professor of theological ethics at Boston College, presented on the topic of immigration and

how it relates to Christian and more specifically, catholic beliefs.

The lecture was held in the Capstone Campus Conference Room. It began at 6 pm and

lasted until about 7:20 pm. Directors of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Religious

Studies Department introduced the lecture and set the tone for topic that would be discussed.

Dr. Heyer then took the stage and used a well-put-together PowerPoint presentation during

her lecture.

B. How this Experience was New or Different

This was a new and different experience for me because I have never attended a formal

lecture held by the university before. Therefore, being surrounded by academics of the religious

studies type was new and different. The setting was very scholarly and almost everyone seemed

to know each other. Although, I have thought and talked about the topic of immigration, I had

never been to a lecture on the topic and especially not one that focused on the Catholic or

Christian viewpoint. I do not consider myself a very religious person, therefore, both of those

aspects made this experience completely different and new; in a way that I can appreciate the

scholarly, Christian outlook on immigration.

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C. Feelings Toward this Experience

Dr. Heyer began the lecture talking about the current presidential administration and their

policies, ideas, and opinions concerning immigration. She talked about the current rhetoric

that immigrants are treated and viewed as threats. They are seen as criminals, rapists, and

outsiders that are ruining “American culture.” Heyer explained that she has heard Americans

say that they feel like a “stranger in their own land.” The way immigrants are viewed from

not only every day citizens, but the presidential administration as well, makes me angry.

They blame many problems on immigrants, such as the lack of jobs and their threat to

security, the economy, and culture.

Next Dr. Heyer began to talk about Christian values and how they should be accepting of

immigrants and people fleeing their countries for refuge. Heyer referenced bible verses in the

book of Deuteronomy, “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His

love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So, show your love for the alien for you

were aliens in the land of Egypt.” And a verse from Exodus 22:21, “You shall not wrong a

stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” She explained that

church has a role in shaping issues and that Christian values are to welcome “aliens” and to

not oppress them which has been done by many “Christians” throughout history. These ideas

made me hopeful that there are Christians out there who do not see immigrants as the enemy

and that they can work to change these policies and opinions about them.

D. How this Experience was Similar to Other Experiences

Although this experience was a new and different experience for me, I can relate the issue

topic to topics that have been discussed in some of my classes. In many of my classes we talk
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about the American experience for racial and ethnic minorities. Regarding the immigration

topic, many people think of Hispanic/Latinx people as immigrating to America. In some of

my classes, we talk about the issues that these groups face. Specifically, in my social services

class, we had a social worker who was born in Mexico and came to the United States to work

and study. She was our guest speaker and she talked about the issues she has faced as a

Mexican immigrant. She talked about the stereotypes people associate her with, like when a

teacher assumed she was a lunch lady when she went to a school for a meeting. She also

conducted an activity with the class about what services undocumented people could receive,

which is almost nothing.

She came from Mexico to have a better education and escape a corrupt government and

people treat her and many others as a threat to American security and culture. Heyer

explained that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit a crime than the average

American citizen. Then why do people assume all immigrants are criminals and rapists?

These people are also fleeing from murders and crimes in their home country, so why would

they come to a new country and rape and murder people? The rhetoric from the current

presidential administration and many before, has created fear around immigrants. That

people from other countries (especially people without white skin) are dangerous and should

be feared and ostracized.

E. How this Relates to Community Psychology

About half of all immigrants are women. Women that flee their home country with their

children and families in order to escape violence and create a better life. Heyer explained that

because of the idea of consumerism that everything must be cheap, many people mistreat and

under pay these hardworking immigrants. She continued on saying that immigrants are
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treated as commodities and that many women immigrants work very hard for very little and

are treated as “disposable workers.” These facts can refer to the idea of intersectionality. The

idea that different dimensions of diversity interact and cause different outcomes for people.

These women immigrants not only face the discrimination from being a different

race/ethnicity and an immigrant, but also from being just that, a woman. Heyer described

these immigrant women as “perfect victims of sexual assault.” Many of these women are

unaware of their rights and rarely seek help from the police because of the lack of trust,

especially if they are undocumented.

Another idea related to immigrants is the concept “Breathing Smog.” This concept is

described as, “oppressive hierarchies are sustained in part by widely accepted myths that

rationalize them,” (Kloos, Thomas, Wandersman, & Dalton, 2015). As I said before, the

current presidential administration and ones before having consistently labeled immigrants as

criminals, rapists, and murderers. Many Americans are unaware of the truth that

undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit a crime than a citizen and that many

immigrants are victims of violent crimes at the hands of Americans is an example of this

“smog” that many Americans are “breathing in” due to the lack of knowledge.

Many immigrants that come to the United States may feel a lack of a sense of

community. Because these people are discriminated against and ostracized, many do not

participate in the community because of the social climate. Immigrants are less likely to

participate in community activities or may create their own communities with other

immigrants. But we want people to belong to strong communities because individuals can

greatly benefit from belonging to one or more.

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References

Kloos, B. R., Hill, J., Thomas, E., Wandersman, A., & Dalton, J. H. (2015). Community

psychology: linking individuals and communities. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengagae

Learning.