August 17, 2004

Americans United for Separation of Church and State
www.au.org

BUSH 'FAITH-BASED' AGENDA SPREADING IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, REPORT FINDS

Initiative Ignores Constitutional Principles And Civil Rights Protections,
Says Americans United

A new study of the "faith-based" initiative raises troubling questions
about the Bush administration's disregard for constitutional and civil
rights protections, according to Americans United for Separation of Church
and State.

The report issued today by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare
Policy lists the many executive actions President George W. Bush has taken
to fund a wide range of religion-based social services. The sweeping
changes in federal policy, the report indicates, have come without
congressional authorization.

The report by the Roundtable, which is a project of the Rockefeller
Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y., reveals that religious groups

now involved in government-encouraged activities ranging from building
strip malls for economic improvement to promoting child car seats."

Americans United, which has spearheaded opposition to the faith-based
initiative, said the report is a useful, but alarming, overview of the
administration's actions on this issue.

"The report shows an administration obsessed with seeking faith-based
solutions for almost everything," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive
director of Americans United. "I am deeply troubled that vital
constitutional and civil rights protections are being shoved aside as the
faith-based crusade advances."

Bush unveiled the faith-based initiative soon after taking office, but it
stalled in Congress due to constitutional and civil rights concerns. To
circumvent Congress, Bush issued executive orders to implement
administratively as much of the proposal as possible.

The Roundtable report studies the numerous federal agencies that are now
offering public dollars to churches and other religion-based social

providers and finds that new regulations created under the faith-based
initiative "mark a major shift in the constitutional separation of church
and state."

In particular, the research notes that the regulatory changes "encompass
two reversals of longstanding policy on Constitutional interpretation. The
federal government now allows faith-based groups receiving federal funds

consider religion when employing staff, and to build and renovate
structures used for both social services and religious worship."

Said AU's Lynn, "The faith-based initiative is bad policy on numerous
fronts. Taxpayers should never be forced to pay for the building or
renovating of houses of worship. And the federal government should never
subsidize groups that engage in employment discrimination."

The report notes that in May the administration issued an "incomplete yet
revealing tally of grants" to faith-based and community organizations at a
number of federal agencies. The administration's figures, the report says,
"indicate a significant increase in the availability of federal funding to
faith-based social service providers."

To see the full report, visit the Roundtable's website at
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=DhT-d0u8WAjdVM0SF8w0fg.. .

Americans United for Separation of Church and State 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.


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