Abstract

This is a study of a religious movement with political overtones, the U.S. the Sanctuary movement, which lasted from 1982 to 1992. The movement was com- prised of about 500 congregations that gave shetler to Central American refugees in defiance of the U.S. gov- ernment. In its theology, Sanctuary had folk religious el- ements because, like liberation theology on which it was based, it involved the reinterpretation of scripture, it was oppositional in intent to official religion, it developed a new social structure within the congregation, it utilized the concepts of folk saints and martyrs as well as new li- turgical elements, and it espoused an alternative version of Christ. Furthermore, Sanctuary, like liberation theol- ogy, emphasized action, namely the taking in of strang- ers, as an essential component of religion