Posted on: Saturday, December 14, 2002

'Faith-based' programs bear careful monitoring

President George Bush's so-called "faith-based initiative" holds great promise to leverage the good works done for society by religious groups.

But it also presents dangers involved in mixing state and church, secular and religious activities.

Originally, Bush sought to get his faith-based action program through Congress under the federal tax code. That effort stalled in the Senate, which was concerned about a variety of legitimate constitutional issues.

Now, Bush is announcing he will make it easier for religious charities to get federal money through executive order; by fiat if you will. The new program would include strict prohibitions against using tax dollars for specific religious activities. But that firewall would be easy to breach.

Money, after all, is fungible. If religious groups take tax dollars for their charitable work, substituting for the money they previously provided, it would free up money for additional religious work.

In fact, it is precisely this argument that has been used by the Bush administration in monitoring U.S. charities who support aid and education programs for the Palestinians. Even if their charity work is legitimate, it frees up resources that the Palestinian Authority can use for other purposes — including terrorism.

Both the federal government and the faith organizations that receive help must monitor this program carefully. The constitutional line between church and state must be preserved.