October 21, 2002
Faith-based 'souls' safe, survey says
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--A survey of nearly 400 faith-based organizations receiving "charitable choice" grants from the government has found the funding poses little threat to either church or state.
___But a leading advocate of church-state separation said the study couldn't measure the level of religious protection afforded to clients of faith-based organizations.
___Only 6 percent of the faith-based organizations, both non-profits and congregations, believe accepting government contracts has threatened to undermine their religiosity, according to the study, released by the conservative Hudson Institute.
___"Are these groups going to have to sell their souls to get Uncle Sam's money?" asked Amy Sherman, senior fellow at the institute, in a presentation at the National Press Club. No, she said: "Only a very, very small amount of people are worried about that."
___And 70 percent of the recipient organizations segregate public money designated for social service use from private funds for religious use, she reported. That means in most cases, the government is not funding religious practices, according to the institute.
___Welton Gaddy, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance in Washington, disagreed.
___"The segregation of funds offers no assurance of offering protection under the Establishment Clause," Gaddy said.
___While government money may fund strictly social-service missions of religious groups, proselytizing could occur during those operations, he said.
___"Government support has had a substantial impact on the social-service activities of the faith-based contractors surveyed," said John Green, who co-authored the report with Sherman and whose University of Akron research center conducted the study.
___Among the findings: 87 percent of faith-based organizations said contract funds had allowed them to serve more clients; 76 percent said a contract had helped them expand an existing program; and 68 percent said a contract had aided them in creating a new program.
___Researchers also learned that, despite a range of religious affiliations overall, 42 percent of the faith-based contractors described themselves as evangelicals. Congregations comprised principally of minority groups were more involved in government contracts than white congregations.
___Slightly more than three-quarters of the contractors were faith-based non-profit agencies, and the rest were congregations.
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