Sufjan Stevens has issued a statement in response to the new administration’s recent Muslim Ban, joining the many musicians and celebrities who have come out against the ban, a group that includes Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Queens Of The Stone Age, Grimes, and more. Stevens’ statement takes on a religious stance, which mirrors many denunciations from Christian leaders of the ban. “America, we will pay for our sins and the sins of our forefathers. Wait for it and embrace it — it will be a beautiful reckoning, a born-again experience. The fire next time is happening now.” Read the full statement below.

America,

There really is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, for we are all immigrants and refugees in a wildly changing world that is dominated by superfluous boundaries built by blood and war. We all come from somewhere else. The truest of “Americans” have either been destroyed by the white immigrant, incarcerated, isolated, held captive, or stolen and enslaved. We are all complicit in the injustices against basic human rights and common decency, to put it mildly, which renders our own “inalienable rights” as questionable or obsolete. In short, our freedom and privilege are predicated on the unfortunate events that led to the decimation and alienation of others. This is what it means to be free. I regret to inform you this is not God-ordained. But it is fact. The only outcome will be serious moral, spiritual, and political recompense. America, we will pay for our sins and the sins of our forefathers. Wait for it and embrace it — it will be a beautiful reckoning, a born-again experience. The fire next time is happening now.

This is not apocalyptic or eschatological hysteria. This is called the laws of physics, the laws of injustice, and the laws of love. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

And Christ calls us to turn the other cheek.

Everything is possible. Not everything is permissible. But change is inevitable. Embrace it. The world is abundant. We are merely stewards. The life you live is not your own.

In the meantime, I charge you to eradicate barriers (physical and social), and listen and learn from each other, embrace each other, help each other, and work on transforming your mind and your behavior in the direction of love. This is not New Age balderdash. This is what it means to be a human being.

Christ would be ashamed of us all.

I love you and I pray for you daily.

Sincerely,
Sufjan Stevens