Religion at the Border

When I sat down to brainstorm what my blog would be about, I started by considering things that were important to both U.S. and Mexican citizens. That is what Border Beat is all about right? I considered covering food, housing, education, music and health care. However, none of these topics seemed to speak to me. I wanted to cover an issue that seems to get less attention from the current media outlets and wanted to cover something that affects everyone.


Therefore, I chose religion. This topic has endless possibilities because it invades all aspects of our lives, regardless of whether we are a practicing Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddist or Atheist. Religion has a history here and has become somewhat of a hot-button issue in Tucson and at the Border for many reasons.

One point of religious interest for Tucson and its borders are its missions. Tucson and its surrounding areas are home to some of the oldest missions in the southwest, San Xavier and Tumacacori, which are visited by people from all over the nation and other countries each year. http://www.nps.gov/tuma/index.htm and http://emol.org/tucson/sanxavier/

Another way that religion is affecting Tucson and the border is the interest that many churchs in the area have taken in aiding illegal immigrants. Many churches, such as First Christian Church in Tucson, have set up water stations along the border to aid travelers who might otherwise die in the sweltering heat of the Arizona Desert. http://www.humaneborders.org/index.html

A point of interest that I find very important is the amount of hispanics who are choosing to leave the Catholic church for Protestant and Evangelical ministries. This not only has an effect on the Catholic church in Mexico and Arizona, but also on culture itself.

I hope to discuss these topics and many others throughout this semester. I think that it is going to be an interesting point of discussion and a lot of fun to read and write about!

Thats all for now,
Allison