Unit 2: The Challenge of Receiving the Stranger

In Unit 2 of Religion and Science in Conversation, sit down with Bishop Mark Seitz (bishop of El Paso, TX) and Professor Cecilia Menjívar (UCLA Sociology) to discuss “Migration: The Challenge of Receiving the Stranger." Together we will learn why has the Catholic Church been so outspoken about current immigration issues? What can be learned from communities living on the border? And how does migration really affect the material and spiritual well-being of our country?

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  • Lesson 1: Roots of Migration: El Salvador's History
    6/14/26

    Lesson 1: Roots of Migration: El Salvador's History

    Dr. Cecilia Menjívar traces the real drivers behind Salvadoran migration: extreme inequality, a U.S.-backed civil war, and the assassination of Óscar Romero. Learn why the U.S. labeled war refugees as mere "economic migrants" — and why that distinction still matters.

  • Lesson 2: A Bishop's Calling: Faith and the Immigrant Experience
    7/14/26

    Lesson 2: A Bishop's Calling: Faith and the Immigrant Experience

    Bishop Mark Seitz shares how a Wisconsin upbringing led him to a lifelong ministry with Latino immigrant communities. Together with Menjívar, he unpacks why scripture centers love of the stranger — and why fear, not doctrine, drives so much anti-immigrant sentiment.

  • Lesson 3: Policy, Criminalization, and Misinformation
    7/14/26

    Lesson 3: Policy, Criminalization, and Misinformation

    A close look at how 1996 immigration law quietly turned misdemeanors into deportable felonies, and how the end of "sensitive locations" protections brought ICE into courts, schools, and churches. Includes real courtroom stories and data that challenges common myths about immigrant crime.