September 25, 2000

'Charitable choice' hot topic in election
___By Kenny Byrd
___Associated Baptist Press
___LOS ANGELES (ABP)--Leaders of both major political parties are touting government partnerships with faith-based organizations to solve the nation's social ills.
___Republican leaders made it a centerpiece of their annual convention, profiling religious leaders who are ready to bring a religious-based approach to problems like drug abuse, juvenile crime and others.
___Both Vice President Al Gore and GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush have voiced support for "charitable choice" initiatives, which would open a new funding door to thoroughly religious organizations to provide social services without altering the religious character of the programs or changing their hiring policies.
___But civil liberties groups and religious leaders across the political spectrum remain split on the merits of the idea and its impact on houses of worship.
___Thoroughly religious institutions, such as churches, long have been able to set up separate non-profit organizations that may receive tax dollars to provide social services as long as they do not engage in religious propagation. Churches themselves, however, have not been eligible to receive taxpayer monies directly.
___At events related to both the Republican and Democratic conventions, religious leaders addressed the divisive issue.
___In Los Angeles, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne led a panel discussion on religion and politics, and "charitable choice" was a hot topic.
___Dionne took a question from the audience about whether it would allow the funding of extreme groups, such as David Koresh's Branch Davidians, and called that "the heart of the problem" with charitable choice. Supporters of charitable choice are "going to end up facing situations where they either violate their principle of fairness in distribution, or they have to give money to certain places that they're not going to like entirely," he said.
___Melissa Rogers, general counsel of the Washington-based Baptist Joint Committee, instead urged churches to set up separate non-profit organizations that can live by federal rules when taking tax money.
___"Charitable choice creates more opportunities to use religion as a political tool," she told the forum gathered just blocks away from the Democratic National Convention.
___"Precisely why religion is so strong here is because it is self-supporting," Rogers said.
___She said a church may be interested in offering a program that provides a secular service and in which any religious activity is clearly separate from the secular activity. "If they can imagine doing that and are willing to live by the government rules, then I would say in that case they can apply for the tax funds but should be a separate (organization) from the mother church body."
___If the church does not want to establish a separate group, or if their program is "holistic in nature" and integrates religion throughout, "I don't think those are good candidates for tax money," she added.
___Jim Wallis, convener of Call to Renewal, supports the charitable-choice proposal but says it is not enough to overcome poverty. Wallis said the country may be "moving from a high wall of separation to a kind of fair pluralism or neutrality."
___Charitable choice "can be done in a way that satisfies legitimate concerns that critics raise," he said.
___While he supports charitable choice, Wallis said he remains concerned about the "prophetic integrity question."
___The Bible suggests that it is inevitable that kings and government leaders do bad things, Wallis said. "That's why the prophets are needed. Well, if you're in too close a relationship with political power--whether you're being funded or not--can that prophetic vocation remain strong?"
___At a meeting of disenchanted voters held concurrently with the Republican National Convention, Wallis said the government's role in overcoming poverty cannot be ignored.
___"We can't keep pulling people out of the river and not send somebody upstream to see what or who is throwing them in," he said.
___Baptist evangelist Tony Campolo is critical of vouchers that would fund religious schools. But on the issue of merging government and religion to address social services, he said, "we've got to find a way, without violating church and state, where government funds and religious volunteers can come together to get the job done."

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!