February 3, 2003
Proposed HUD rules would fund faith-based buildings
___By Adelle Banks
___Religion News Service
___WASHINGTON--The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed a new rule that would permit federal funds to be used for the construction of buildings that include "inherently religious activities" as well as eligible social service programs.
___The proposal, outlined in the Federal Register in January, is being welcomed and criticized by observers of President Bush's faith-based initiative.
___The eight-page proposal lists several instances where, for the first time, future construction of facilities using HUD funds might involve faith-based groups.
___"Where a structure is used for both eligible and inherently religious activities, HUD funds may not exceed the cost of those portions of the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation that are attributable to eligible activities," the proposed rule reads.
___It also says HUD funds cannot be used for buildings that are solely for religious activities, including "worship, religious instruction or prayer."
___The proposal's language concerning construction will be open for public comment until March 7, when HUD officials will begin drafting a final version of the rule.
___Its provisions concerning construction affect a variety of initiatives by HUD, which offered a total of $7.7 billion in grants last year. The language applies to community development block grants as well as programs related to owning single-family homes, housing people with AIDS and providing emergency shelter.
___A HUD official said the proposal could allow a church to construct a building that would both offer shelter to the homeless and include a chapel. That official said HUD field staff would determine a formula so that federal grant money would be used for the social service and not the religious purpose.
___As with other HUD grants, inspections and reports would be required to monitor compliance with the specifics of the grant.
___Supporters and opponents of the faith-based initiative consider this a dramatic push ahead by the Bush administration. But the idea that facilities funded with public money could sometimes be used for worship services is drawing criticism and questions from some quarters.
___"I see no way that the Constitution or Supreme Court decisions permit the use of federal dollars for the construction of religious facilities," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "If you put a roof on a building and it covers both the homeless shelter and the chapel, frankly, you've violated the Constitution."
___Bob Tuttle, a law professor at George Washington Law School who has co-written analyses of the Bush administration's faith-based initiative, agreed and wondered how officials would monitor compliance with a rule that HUD money be used solely for eligible services.
___"When you pay for bricks and mortar, you have no idea how that's being used," said Tuttle, whose analyses have been published by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy. "It doesn't have a dedicated purpose like paying for food or paying for somebody's rent."
___But Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, believes it's possible to have publicly funded facilities for community and religious services without violating church-state separation.
___"I think it's the right move," he said. "The fact of the matter is that the law, as currently interpreted by the Supreme Court, allows for precisely that."
___He cited several church-state cases related to religious uses of publicly funded venues, including one involving an evangelical church's use of a public school auditorium to show Christian movies.
___"They're being constructed for community uses, which will include religious use, not only for religious use," he said.
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