Morally and Scientifically Reprehensible: The Clergy Letter Project Condemns the Policy of Separating Immigrant Children from their Parents

The Clergy Letter Project, an organization of more than 15,700 clergy members representing a wide array of religions and denominations from all corners of the United States, has voted overwhelmingly in favor of condemning the steps taken by the United States government to separate immigrant children from their parents.

This is not an action that the group’s membership has taken lightly and it should not be seen as a step toward wading into partisan political waters. Indeed, the organization is not taking a broad position on immigration issues; rather it is focusing on the theological and scientific bankruptcy of tearing apart families.

The Clergy Letter Project was founded with two narrow and closely entwined goals: to promote the teaching of evolution in public school classrooms and laboratories; and to demonstrate that there need not be any conflict between religion and science. The appalling circumstances at the US/Mexico border represent a situation in which religion and science lead to the same conclusion: separation makes no sense from either a religious or a scientific perspective.