White House considers renewed drive to
fund churches through ''faith-based initiative''
Bush Push To Win 'Charitable Choice' Grants For
Religion Would Be Deeply Divisive, Charges AU's Lynn
Press release from Americans United for Separation
of Church and State
Dated September 25, 2001. Posted here on 9-26-01
A renewed White House push to secure Senate passage of "charitable
choice" funding for churches would be "deeply divisive,"
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has warned.
The Washington Post reported today that Bush
administration officials are considering an aggressive drive on behalf
of the "faith-based initiative," a package of proposals that
would subsidize churches and other ministries that operate social
services.
According to the newspaper, some Bush advisors want to
push for provisions of the initiative that have broad bipartisan
support, such as a tax break measure that gives taxpayers new incentives
to donate to religious and other charities.
Other advisors think the president should press for
the full "faith-based" package, which includes highly
controversial direct funding of churches (the so-called "charitable
choice" provision). They are apparently convinced that the
president's soaring popularity in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks will help pass the problem-plagued initiative. Such a move would
be a serious mistake, said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of
Americans United, the group that has led opposition to the Bush plan.
"Americans are united at this time of national
crisis," said Lynn, "but that does not mean they are prepared
to rubber stamp every item on the president's domestic agenda. Direct
federal funding of churches violates our basic constitutional
principles, and it must not become law."
Continued Lynn, "The 'charitable choice'
provision of the faith-based initiative remains highly controversial. It
would be wrong for the president to press forward on a deeply divisive
issue at a time when national unity is crucial."
The Community Solutions Act (H.R. 7) -- a measure
enacting the full Bush initiative -- has already passed the House of
Representatives. It has bogged down in the Senate over concerns that the
initiative violates the First Amendment by directing tax aid to
religion. The initiative also undercuts civil rights laws by allowing
religiously based employment discrimination with tax dollars, pits
houses of worship against each other in a bid for federal funding and
could subject needy Americans to unwanted proselytism.
"Interfaith peace is especially important in
these difficult times," said AU's Lynn. "Under the president's
plan, a fundamentalist Christian charity could run a federally funded
social service program and hang out a sign saying, 'No Catholics, Jews,
non-believers or Muslims need apply for work here.' That's completely
unacceptable, particularly in a time when we are trying to bring all
Americans together.
"The faith-based initiative remains deeply
flawed," Lynn said. "At this difficult time in American life,
we would do better to honor our fundamental principles, like the
separation of church and state, not undercut them."
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog
group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization
educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in
safeguarding religious freedom.
