No Religious Test for Refugees

While a few U.S. political leaders have called for banning resettlement of all Muslim refugees, leaders in the evangelical community affirm that refugees should not be rejected based on their religious identity. According to the January Evangelical Leaders Survey, 91 percent of respondents said the US should not bar entry to all refugees affiliated with certain religions.Evangelical leaders are not alone. According to a December 2015 CBS News poll, nearly six in ten Americans do not believe the US should temporarily bar Muslims from other countries from entering the United States, and two-thirds said such a ban would go against the founding principles of this country.Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), said “Religion should not be a litmus test for receiving aid. Most evangelical leaders believe compassion and security can and should go hand-in-hand.”