Giving Taxpayer Funds to Faith-Based Groups

President Bush recently boasted that his administration gave $1 billion in grants in 2003 to faith-based social service organizations. His announcement took most observers by surprise, as the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives operates quietly and, incredibly, without Congressional oversight.

Prior to this administration, faith-based groups were generally not eligible to receive taxpayers funds to support their programs. What changed? Why not give federal funds to churches?

Piqued by President Bush's unusual largesse to faith-based groups, I explored these questions and wrote about my findings on Federal Funding of Faith-Based Services here.

I discovered one very good reason to not give federal funds to churches: under the present administration, faith-based recipients of taxpayer funds may choose to ignore federal employment discrimination laws, and instead, may freely discriminate based on race, religion, gender or any other factor.

This issue is urgent and startling. Make sure you read these articles.