Understanding 'faith' in faith-based organizations: refugee resettlement work as religious practice

The Trump administration has consistently opposed refugee resettlement, slashing national admission ceilings and undermining the long-running U.S. resettlement programme. While these changes have been broadly supported by conservative, evangelical voters, other evangelicals have publicly challenged the administration's decisions. This dissent is also evident in the expanding involvement of evangelical, faith-based actors in refugee resettlement. Drawing on a case study of two faith-based refugee 'third sector' organizations in a southeastern U.S. city, this paper addresses the role of faith-based organizations, employees, and volunteers operating in the U.S. resettlement context. It examines how faith informs the resettlement efforts of these organizations and how individuals involved with these organizations understand, perform, and reinterpret their faith through this work. This article advances understandings of faith-based resettlement work; from the perspective of employees and volunteers, resettlement work is a form of religious practice, demonstrating that the 'sacred' is not limited to certain spaces, places, or institutions, but rather can be carried out in everyday life. Evangelical faith-based involvement is mobilized by inclusive theologies and Biblical commands to care for the stranger; however, encounters between refugees and faith-based resettlement workers are complex, and meanings of this faith-based involvement are not well understood.