Seventeenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

This paper surveys the connection between theological ethics and immigration. Through a systematic study of the theological underpinnings of ethics in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam the research examines the dimensions of immigration in the United States. This study includes a comparative analysis of these three traditions and their perspectives which shape rhetoric regarding immigration, including asylum seekers and refugees. We share a framework for addressing philosophical and theological issues related to the rights of passage, including an interdisciplinary examination of the legal, economic, and political aspects of movement across borders. Conceptual foundations are analyzed and cases discussed. The first part explores various philosophical and theological principles and theories that provide a methodological basis for the study of theological ethics and immigration. The second part presents various applications and issues on which this endeavor may focus and where this discourse may head in the future, including an assessment of the distinctive theological implications of immigration.