The Interfaith Equality Coalition is

an alliance of faith communities

working together to bring equality,
justice, and dignity for all people
through our compassionate witness,
education, and advocacy.

February 8, 2017

Dear Governor C. L. Butch Otter,

We, the undersigned clergy and faith representatives of Idaho, disagree that our great state desires to
give preference to Christians as refugees over people of other, or of no, faith. The Christian voices
among us, surrounded by our brothers and sisters of other religions, decry continuing Christian
exceptionalism in our country as if Christian lives and perspectives are more valued, and Christianity
as a target of war and genocide is somehow more grievous, than when other peoples are also
targeted by the evils of war, nationalism, and religious extremism.
Our country, our state, and our faith come together in a confluence of shared values of justice that is
impartial, equality that sees the interconnected nature of all life, and care that responds to the needs
of othersand most particularly those who exist on the margins of our society: the tired, the
hungry, and the poor. Such plight knows no boundary of faith, race, gender, sexuality, or class.
We are inspired to see the Statue of Liberty welcome the stranger to our shore; the Great Seal of
Idaho give lady justice a central place in our story; and the Bible teach us that love casts out fear and
has no limits. Love is commanded by God to our neighbors, to strangers, and even to our enemies.
There are certainly Christian refugees who must be welcomed. However, their welcome is not
because they are Christians but because they are refugees from war and targets of hate. These are
those whom our country exists to welcome. And just as many years ago the native populations of
Idaho welcomed a bewildered Lewis and Clark and helped them on their journey, we yearn to
continue a proud Idaho tradition of finding those whom tempest and temper have flung out into the
wilderness, and give them home.
It is no mistake that when the lawyer wished to put Jesus to the test on whom we must love by
asking who is my neighbor, Jesus did not point to one of his own but told a story about one of a
hated ethnic and religious group: a Samaritan. In our culture, we have lost the scandal of this
parable. The neighbor we must love does not end up being one of our country, or one of our
religious background, but becomes the one we feel least comfortable with and whom we least wish
to welcome. It is because of this heritage that we cannot accept seeing our faith, our state, or our
country be any less than the gift of freedom for all and refuge to any in need. To this we were called
by our God, our heritage, and the better angels of our nature.
We implore you, as the leader of our state, to use your voice on behalf of our shared values, our
faithful congregations, and our beautifully diverse communities and assert the need to welcome all
refugees who flee the terrors of warregardless of whatever partiality we may feel.

Sincerely,

We, the undersigned members of the Interfaith Equality Coalition, and other aligned signatories