Humanity in Crisis: Ethical and Religious Response to Refugees

Author: David Hollenbach

October 1, 2019

In this book, Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., examines the causes of and presents ethical solutions to the global refugee crisis responsible for seeing the greatest number of forced migrants and internally displaced persons in modern history. Hollenbach uses a rich corpus of texts—from the Bible and writings of various popes to the latest scholarship on international development—to argue that providing effective assistance to refugees is a sovereign responsibility. According to Hollenbach, faith-based organizations and religious communities have played key roles in addressing the refugee crisis because religion often makes such humanitarian work a duty, in addition to providing hope to refugees and aid workers on the ground. By drawing from foundational religious and philosophical texts, Hollenbach ultimately presents an ethical and religious framework aimed to inform policy decisions on how to address the current refugee crisis and to prevent future influxes in the number of forced migrants and internally displaced persons. Read "Chapter 4: Religious Action Today" in PDF form below, courtesy of Georgetown University Press.

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