| Bush's
"faith-based" initiative draws fire, TIMES OF INDIA, FEBRUARY 3, 2001
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WASHINGTON:
President George W Bush's "faith-based initiative," designed to allow
religious charities and non-profit organisations to compete for federal
funding in the battle against the nation's social programs, has drawn
criticism from groups keen to keep the church and the state separate.
Flanked by 35 religious leaders from the nation's monotheistic faiths
-Christianity, Judaism, and Islam - Bush had signed an executive order
creating offices in the White House and five Cabinet agencies to ease
government regulations and boost federal funding of religious charities.
The 35 religious representatives who participated in the White House
ceremony did not however include any representatives of Hindu, Sikh,
or Buddhist groups.
Bush's initiative drew immediate criticism from groups concerned about
maintaining separation of church and state, but the president and
his aides moved to downplay the religious component, instead emphasising
that the proposal's overall purpose was to boost community and civil
society. "Government will never be replaced by charities and community
groups," Bush told the assembly of interfaith and community service
leaders. "Yet when we see social needs in America, my administration
will look to faith-based programs and community groups, which have
proven their power to save and change lives."
"We will not fund the religious activities of any group, but when
people of faith provide social services, we will not discriminate
against them," he said.
Specifically, Bush created an Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives in the White House, to be headed by University of Pennsylvania
professor John Dililio, which will work with centres at the Departments
of Justice, House and Urban Development, Health and Human Services,
Labor and Education, to ease regulations that inhibit religious charities
and to promote grass-roots efforts. Representatives of groups such
as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) assailed the initiative and charged that
besides violating the constitution it raised civil rights questions
as well.
Steve Benen, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church
and State said: "It's creating a new government bureaucracy created
to funnel tax dollars to religious institutions. It is merging church
and state at an unprecedented level."
Meanwhile, Laura Murphy, director of ACLU's Washington's office, said
civil rights of a person could be violated as well because she said
there was nothing that requires a Jewish-run mental health program
for example to treat members of other religions.
But Bush defended his initiative, saying he was convinced that the
plan is constitutional, "because we will not fund a church or synagogue
or mosque or any religion, but instead we'll be funding programs that
affect people in a positive way." (IANS)
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