The Fear of Immigration
British attitudes against immigration are hardening. Research published last week in the 21st British Social Attitudes (BSA) report shows that nearly three quarters of people now believe that the number of immigrants should be reduced, with most of them thinking it should be 'reduced a lot'. This is a rise of ten per cent on the already high figures of 1995.
The reasons are complex and not always clear. BSA researchers tested a number of hypotheses and found that it was primarily, although not exclusively, a fear of the social (rather than economic) consequences of large-scale immigration that was powering this hostility. Respondents, primarily 'graduates, Labour supporters and those with a substantial interest in politics' (rather than the traditional anti-immigration constituency), were increasingly anxious that immigration was destabilising British culture and society.
Christians are liable to straddle the divide in this sensitive debate. On the one hand, the Bible places an insistent and uncompromising emphasis on the importance of welcoming the stranger. The Old Testament commands the Israelites to 'love your neighbour' once and to love and protect the alien 36 times.
On the other hand, the biblical narrative recognises that relationships make us human and that, accordingly, cohesive, gathered communities, such as Israel itself or those 'nations' denounced in the opening chapters of the book of Amos, are a reality that may need safeguarding. Both Israel and the early Church attempted to strike a balance between a distinctive identity and an open and inclusive attitude to outsiders. The fact they often failed is merely testimony to how difficult that task is.
21st century Britain is not Old Testament Israel, still less the early Church, and we must be careful not to force biblical teaching into inappropriate or anachronistic categories. That said, the approach described and modelled in the Bible can guide Christians in their attempts to address the rising tide of anti-immigrant feeling.
We need to love the alien in our midst, and in particular the vulnerable alien, while at the same time stressing the importance of community cohesion and identity. You cannot, after all, welcome the stranger if you have nothing to welcome them into.
Maintaining a foot in both camps in this way will invariably open us to hostile criticism from both sides of the debate. But that is a perennial danger for the people of the go-between God.
Nick Spencer
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