BU Today: Prof. Collins Explains Religion’s Role in Compassionate Action for Immigrants
In an opinion piece for BU Today, Prof. Mary Collins from BU School of Social Work argues that religion plays a crucial role in fostering compassion towards migrants, as compassion is a core virtue in major religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. She highlights religious leaders advocating for migrants and emphasizes that religious teachings provide clear guidance on responding to human suffering, encouraging societies to adopt more compassionate actions towards immigration.
Excerpt from “Religion Has a Unique Role to Play in Advancing a Compassionate Response to Immigration” by Mary Collins:
The relationship between religion and civil society has been well studied. Recent scholarship, focused on migration specifically, articulates some fundamental functions of religions: they mobilize modern societies to engage in collective and public reflection on the normative issues, they introduce their own arguments on social problems, they stress the principle of the common good, and they address the principle of solidarity, emphasizing the dignity of a person above the state and the marketplace.”