CURA Colloquium: "Sanctuary Syndrome"

This paper examines the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s. In direct defiance of US law, houses of worship across the country provided asylum to immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador. They aimed to convert America's political imagination through the stories of the people living in their sanctuaries. Refugees were a new kind of missionary to the United States, and churches and synagogues hoped they could turn the country around. However, when government policies did not dissolve and the FBI began to make arrests, religious communities were forced to ask, “How long can we do this?” and “What happens if we fail?” *Reading the working paper in advance is required for attendance.* Email cura@bu.edu for your copy. Co-sponsored with the School of Theology