Ealasaid A. Haas
February 1, 2001
Opinion Writing

President Bush has set up a White House office to give money to religious charitable programs. Although there is precedent for federal money going to religious institutions, this latest move could easily be one more straw on the proverbial camel’s back. The separation of church and state this country was founded upon is altogether too precious to be endangered – which is just what this latest move of the president’s is doing. Without some clarification of the executive order establishing the new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, taxpayers could find their money going to pay for programs which require people to take part in religious activity in order to receive help.

Religious programs do get some help from the federal government already. Churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues which can prove their eligibility are tax-exempt, which makes donating to them tax-deductible and helps them to stay afloat. Parochial schools have been given federal money, with the requirement that the money is not used for religious activities, only for purposes such as buying equipment. Private religious schools are not forced to hold to federal regulations regarding equal hiring policies or certification in order to get monetary assistance.

Even so, the separation of church and state Thomas Jefferson insisted the First Amendment was intended to create is vitally important. To many people, it is at least as precious as the freedom of speech and of the press that same amendment also guarantees. Some of the framers of the Constitution were themselves potential victims of religious intolerance - deists and freethinkers, they did not hold traditional Christian beliefs. After seeing the pain governmental religion wrought under English Rule, they worked hard to keep the same thing from happening here.

But President Bush does not appear to care much about that. During his campaign, he announced at a rally in Indianapolis that "in every instance when my administration sees a responsibility to help people, we will look first to faith-based institutions, to charities and to community groups that have shown their ability to save and change lives." As in the order setting up the new office, faith comes first for President Bush.

And as in the initiative, he makes no mention of which faiths he means, or how he plans to keep the money from being spent on proselytizing. As a born-again Christian and a man who has publicly stated that he doesn’t believe the growing neo-Pagan movement in American is a valid religion, can President Bush be relied on to ensure that all religious programs have an equal chance for funding?

The new program carries risks for the religious institutions themselves, as well. Those who receive federal funding risk losing some of their independence as they come under federal scrutiny. The separation of church and state Jefferson envisioned wasn’t just designed to protect the people, it was designed to protect the church as well.

Bush’s attempts to blur that line of separation must be challenged, and he must be held to the Constitution he has sworn to protect and uphold. The level of interaction between church and state is already perilously high. This new move smacks of religious favoritism, which cannot be allowed under the First Amendment.

Bibliography

PRESIDENT BUSH AND 'FAITH-BASED' INITIATIVES: AU Report And Answers To Frequently Asked Questions, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (http://www.au.org/pr12601.htm)

"High Court Likely Will Be Forced to Decide Church-State Boundary" by David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2001

Executive Order: Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based And Community Initiatives (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/20010129-2.html)