Faith-based aid OK, but not for all faiths

Christian Century, April 18, 2001

Americans overwhelmingly support the idea of allowing faith-based groups to receive government funds in exchange for social services--but only as long as those groups are part of the Christian and Jewish tradition and as long as they would not discriminate in hiring according to religious beliefs.

A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that significant numbers of Americans oppose giving government money to groups such as Muslims, Buddhists, Scientologists and the Nation of Islam. Only 51 percent supported giving money to Mormons.

"While the public expresses strong support (75 percent) for the idea of faith-based groups receiving government funding to provide social services, in practice, it has many reservations," said the report released on April 10. Under President Bush's faith-based initiative, religious groups would be allowed to discriminate in hiring. But the Pew survey showed strong opposition to giving money to groups that would only hire people of the same faith.

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said that the Bush plan is "stirring up unnecessary religious tensions," according to the poll. "If majority faiths qualify for aid, minorities must be eligible as well," Lynn said. "Yet people are worried that religious groups they don't like or don't understand will get their tax dollars. This scheme has disaster written all over it."

On March 21 a bill reflecting the outlines of Bush's faith-based initiative was introduced in the House of Representatives by J. C. Watts (R., Okla.) and Tony Hall (D., Ohio). But the Senate version, introduced the same day by Joseph Lieberman (D., Conn.) and Rick Santorum (R., Pa.), broadened eligibility for tax deductions for charitable giving but left out the expansion of "charitable choice" programs because of church-state concerns expressed by both liberal and conservative critics. Santorum had said earlier that the Senate should wait several months, perhaps a year, for a consensus.

The telephone survey of 2,041 adults sponsored by the Pew Forum was conducted March 5-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The general concept of letting more religious organizations join secular groups in competition for social service funds found strong support among African-Americans and Hispanics--81 percent support the idea--while a smaller percentage of whites, 68 percent, support the idea. Republicans were also much more likely to support the program than Democrats.

By a considerable margin, older Americans are more cautious in their support of the program. While 80 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 support faith-based initiatives, only 55 percent of retirees do.

In regard to which services faith-based groups can best provide, the survey respondents scored such groups higher on programs that help with feeding the homeless, prison counseling, mentoring and teen pregnancy. The government was rated higher for literacy programs, health care and job training.