On a cold but magnificently clear afternoon, top religious leaders gathered outside yesterday and sounded a thunderclap.

They denounced Governor Carcieri’s executive order to crack down on illegal immigration. Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin cut to the heart of the matter by saying his guideline comes from Jesus: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

As I listened, I felt that if I were Catholic, as is Carcieri, this would sting me to the quick. But you don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate it. After all, Rabbi Alan Flam, president of the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis, sounded the same themes from Jewish tradition: “... for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,” a passage with particular resonance as Passover approaches.

Joining in a news conference and interviews near the Catholic cathedral was the Rev. Donald Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches. His message: “In God’s kingdom, there are no second-class citizens, there are only brothers and sisters.”

All three men warned of a backlash that could whip legal as well as illegal immigrants in the wake of Republican Carcieri’s action. Rabbi Flam told me, “Any person of color, anyone who is not a native English speaker, right now is feeling less secure living in Rhode Island today.”

Bishop Tobin, who called Carcieri’s order “very ill advised,” said, “It’s not the governor’s intention, but sometimes these things do spin out of control.”

Incidentally, I wish that those who work themselves into a frenzy over immigration issues would consider this Tobin observation: “The overwhelming majority of immigrants are law-abiding individuals, pay a variety of taxes, and contribute to the economic development of our community.”

I am proud today of Rhode Island’s religious leaders. But let’s see more politicians, including every prospective 2010 gubernatorial candidate, also speak up. Kudos to one of them, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts. At a Monday rally opposing Carcieri’s order, she decried “the politics of polarization.”

Democrat Roberts tells me, “The governor focusing on this issue, in his visible role as a leader, will cause more and more division within the state, and I don’t see that as healthy. One of the great things in Rhode Island is our sense of community, and it is what can lead us out of the problems we face, and I think it will really be very detrimental to us as a state if we are divided.”

Mr. Anderson said he was appalled to hear Roberts denounced on talk radio as a traitor.

I admire the decision of David Quiroa, chairman of the Rhode Island Hispanic Republican Assembly, alarmed by Carcieri’s immigration views, to leave the party and become an independent. But it’s sad. The state GOP is going from anemic to virtually defunct.

Meanwhile, nasty e-mails pour in here blasting my Sunday column that slammed Carcieri for exploiting the immigrant issue.

For example, one message — signed David Owren — called me “venomous,” “bigoted,” and out of touch. “But I guess without your twisted spin, you wouldn’t have much ink to fill your column. You have become a one-trick pony, whose time has come to go out to pasture. So continues the downward spiral of the Journal, with YOU as a major contributor! Shame, shame on you.”

Many of the e-mails were uglier, and many were unsigned. Say what you will about my columns, at least I put my name on them.

M. Charles Bakst is The Journal’s political columnist.

mbakst@projo.com