February 19, 2001

'Charitable choice' questioned
___AUSTIN--"Charitable choice" initiatives threaten the voluntary character of religion in America, according to a Texas-based church-state scholar.
___Government funding of pervasively sectarian institutions is a threat not only to the institutional separation of church and state, but also to the vibrancy of voluntary religious practice in the United States, warned Derek Davis, director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University in Waco.
___He spoke during the annual conference of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission.
___The long-term impact of implementing charitable choice could be "devastating" to the voluntary character of American religion, Davis predicted. "Over time, we are going to destroy the dynamic character of religion in America. The voluntary spirit is going to die."
___Americans historically have viewed the relationship between faith and public life from three approaches, he explained. The United States' position has been "commitment to the institutional separation of church and state, integration of religion and politics, and accommodation of civil religion," he asserted.
___"We don't have pure separation of church and state, but we do have an institutional separation of church and state. That's been fundamental," Davis said.
___Americans traditionally have resisted those who would use government to advance sectarian religion or to "prop up" values that may not be commonly shared by the general population, he said.
___Comments and questions about President George W. Bush's proposed initiatives for faith-based funding ran throughout the two-day Christian Life Commission conference. Other speakers, particularly during question-and-answer times, addressed the issue with warnings and predictions of looming disaster.

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