Keeping the Faith in Faith-Based

During the previous administration, I worked for the federal contractor that provided technical support for the faith-based initiative known as the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). Much was made about the Bush Administration’s innovativeness in providing public dollars to support the work of faith-based organizations. This was inaccurate. Government support through a network of grants and contracts has been provided to religious organizations for non-sectarian social services for the past 50 years.

What was new was allowing federal funds to be used to support religious and quasi-religious activities under the guise of social services. This happened with a wink and a nod through the Capital Compassion Fund and related faith-based initiatives. This cannot be allowed to continue in the Obama Administration.

Additionally, I witnessed first hand, technical assistance training on how CCF grantees could legally discriminate against people they didn’t want to hire based on religious predilections. As an American, I was and continue to be offended that taxpayer dollars would be used to exclude any group of people. This, as well, cannot be allowed to continue.

Yet, beyond these challenges, there is the wider, Constitutional issue of the separation of church and state. The previous administration – certainly not the most respectful of the Constitution in general – somehow believed that the separation clause was up for grabs. It is not.

We are all diminished when government can use its substantial weight to assault the Constitution by funding the peculiarities of religious entities. Let’s hope that President Obama, as a constitutional scholar, will safeguard these vital protections by curtailing the ability of any organizations – faith-based or otherwise – from using taxpayer dollars to discriminate against anyone.

I have written more on this issue on my blog: http://www.501cweb.com

Faith-based programs can never discriminate against those they serve. In our ministry we serve Muslims, atheists, and Christians alike. But we have to be able to control our own hiring.
_______________________

Yet another reason to (a) end "faith-based funding once and for all and (b) revoke the tax-exempt status of religious institutions. Rationale: (a) they violate DOL rules and regulations and (b) violate the requirements for tax-exempt status.

The grant in which I'm involved provides social services on a non-sectarian basis. This is the United States of America. Why a grant should be necessary for such an endeavor is anybody's guess. Our structure is easily duplicated. The faithiness of faith-based funding is about power, influence, and money. Not good.

There is no reason that a faith based organization has to take government money if it wants to continue discriminatory practices.

An organization such as yours, headed by a traitor and convicted felon, should receive no federal funds under any circumstances.

Hello kert1,

"Faith based operations succeed by following a specific plan with goals in mind."

I generally agree with your post regarding charities succeeding by operating as a business, and the essential component of freedom of decision making power as part of success.

Many faith based organizations at their cores prioritize discrimination over compassion. That may sound harsh and at first blush untrue, but I believe that it pans out. It is one of the weaknesses of faith based platforms of morality. We, as individuals, discriminate based on our conditioning. Several of the panelists dialogue discrimination as fundamentalist ( :-) ), particularly John Mark Reynolds.

"This is Obama's way of acting like he believes in "Faith Base" but just extending the reach of the government."

I think that you overreach here. There was little resistance from faithbased organizations when this program was implemented by Bush. But then Bushs' Administration was itself discriminatory. It gave free reign to faith organizations to continue to discriminate in their practices, while funding them to do so with tax dollars. It also gave preference to funding conservative christian groups over any others.

The 'reach of government' was in force by Bush. Obama may just be seeking to correct the bias of that programs errors while maintaining what was good about the program.

"Keeping the Faith in Faith-Based"

How about we keep the *social* and *obligation* in 'social obligation?'

"Faith-based programs can never discriminate against those they serve."

I got a couple legacies of chronic malnutrition that say otherwise. When are you Christians, particularly Neocons, ever gonna see a distinction between 'What I say' and 'What happens?'

Gods.

" In our ministry we serve Muslims, atheists, and Christians alike."

With almost thirty percent non-wedge-issuey substance!

" But we have to be able to control our own hiring. To ask us to abandon our faith, exercised by those who work on our behalf,"

Err, since when is who a megachurch hires to keep the books on doling out the pork about 'your faith?' Oh. Reagan, Right.

"would eviscerate our work -- like asking McDonald's to sell its hamburgers but leave out the beef."

No. Actually, this is about... Not selling the beef. This is about *giving* the beef. Put. The. Beef. In. The. Hands. Of. Someone. Hungry.

Where's the beef?

Faith based operations succeed by following a specific plan with goals in mind. They succeed generally for the same reasons a regular business succeeds, because they are able to make their own decisions and do what is best.

Taking the ability of faith based operations to hire who they want, is basically taking away your decision making power. Anyone knows a business succeeds or fails because of it's employees, no matter what the business plan is. That which made the Faith Based operation successful, could be destroyed and likely will be. The outsiders will now have control of who gets hired and not the people who built the organization (how would you like that for your business).

This provision basically means the government will control the Faith-Based organizations that get the money. No legitimate organization will accept this because they will then me an extension of the government. This is Obama's way of acting like he believes in "Faith Base" but just extending the reach of the government.

Faith Based organizations have received federal funding because they deserve. They perform needed services for society better than the government or other organizations could ever do. Allow them to continue what they do and support it or this program will fail miserably.

Another vapid response from Chuck.

Nixon left us over a decade ago, please follow him and leave this earth as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance...

Mr. Colson:

If you want my tax money, then you must comply with ALL the labor laws of the United States. If you wich to discriminate on the basis of religion, then you can't have my tax money. It is that simple. Your grotesque religious bigotry may not be funded.

What is the beef that they are asked to leave out?

Answering that question will get to understanding why the 'faith based' effort is often a charade. There is already in operation a better way to provide the community services needed, however, it does not achieve what some 'faith based' organizations actually want.