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Government Funding Of, By and For ALL
It takes me a minute sometimes to understand what is really going on. Like, it took me a moment to understand that the discussion about faith-based institutions being able to discriminate in their hiring was really about there being resistance on the part of some of these institutions to hire gay people.
I think it is a sad commentary when religious institutions are so caught up in discrimination based on a person's sexuality.
Actually, it is sad for a religious institution to discriminate on the basis of anything. According to the way I learned about God, it is the religious institutions which should provide the model for right living to all other entities.
I, for one, have resisted applying for government funds for my church work because I would find it difficult to be faithful to my call. I sometimes criticize the government, and criticize it harshly, for not being just in its policies. I think I might become afraid to speak up and speak out against something I felt was unjust if the government whose policies I was criticizing was helping me or my church to survive.
I don't for one minute think a private or public institution has to compromise on or in its beliefs. That would make said institution disingenuous and dishonest.
Here's the problem, though. The government, any government, is supposed to stand for and protect the rights and dignity of all people, whomever they might be. For us in the United States, our government stands for justice for all. President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that we have a government "of the people, by the people and for the people." It's the stuff that makes "a more perfect union." That "perfect union" cannot be if it stands for the rights of only some of the people.
Therefore, if the government issues money to any faith-based institution, the government should have the right to demand that there be no discrimination in hiring, and if an institution or organization has a problem with that, that same institution should not seek government funding.
Joshua DuBois, the newly-appointed director of President Obama's Faith-Based Initiative Office, said that hiring discrimination matters or cases will be decided on a case by case basis. I would imagine that there will be a lot of cases that office will have to work on, because we humans tend to want to blur the roles of government and religion.
Religion proposes to be the standard bearer of that which is right, fair and loving. It is not; to the contrary, religion too often is the standard bearer of all that which is discriminatory and exclusive. Religion argues its way out of criticism for its exclusionary, judgmental and discriminatory behavior by saying that it supports what God ordained. In other words, religion uses God to promote a human agenda.
Government cannot do that, or should not be able to do that, especially not this government. This is America, remember? This is the government whose famous statesman, Thomas Jefferson, said that "all men are created equal." Never mind that this government has consistently, from its inception, treated men and women as inherently unequal; the time for change has arrived, right? This would be the moment that the people of America would see a new reality?
Yes, the Obama Administration should make it a policy that any institution that receives federal funds not discriminate in hiring. Those religious institutions that would object to such a policy would be all right; there are other sources of funding.
We are either a democracy or we are not. We have never really been democratic in the way we treat people who do not fit "the" definition of what is normal and acceptable.
It's high time the hypocrisy between ideology and praxis end. Finally.
By
Susan K. Smith
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February 13, 2009; 12:55 AM ET
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Posted by: wjfreeman1 | February 16, 2009 10:55 AM
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I'm of the opinion to do away with the so-called faith-based initiatives for the precise reasons Pastor Smith so eloquently stated. There's no adequate policing of these groups that the funds are dispersed to, so provide the funds to the organizations that are established for social service purposes and let churches find other sources for revenue other than public money.
Posted by: djw531 | February 15, 2009 7:02 PM
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Yes, the Obama Administration should make it a policy that any institution that receives federal funds not discriminate in hiring.
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Frankly, I object not only to "faith-based funding" but to tax-exempt status for religious institutions on grounds not only of principle, but also on legality, as they constantly violate tax-exemption requirements. That said, for the government to declare itself providing funds for discriminatory hiring sounds, gee, I dunno, nuts?
Posted by: Farnaz2 | February 14, 2009 12:48 AM
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During the previous administration, I worked for the federal contractor that provided technical support for the faith-based initiative known as the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). Much was made about the Bush Administration’s innovativeness in providing public dollars to support the work of faith-based organizations. This was inaccurate. Government support through a network of grants and contracts has been provided to religious organizations for non-sectarian social services for the past 50 years.
What was new was allowing federal funds to be used to support religious and quasi-religious activities under the guise of social services. This happened with a wink and a nod through the Capital Compassion Fund and related faith-based initiatives. This cannot be allowed to continue in the Obama Administration.
Additionally, I witnessed first hand, technical assistance training on how CCF grantees could legally discriminate against people they didn’t want to hire based on religious predilections. As an American, I was and continue to be offended that taxpayer dollars would be used to exclude any group of people. This, as well, cannot be allowed to continue.
Yet, beyond these challenges, there is the wider, Constitutional issue of the separation of church and state. The previous administration – certainly not the most respectful of the Constitution in general – somehow believed that the separation clause was up for grabs. It is not.
We are all diminished when government can use its substantial weight to assault the Constitution by funding the peculiarities of religious entities. Let’s hope that President Obama, as a constitutional scholar, will safeguard these vital protections by curtailing the ability of any organizations – faith-based or otherwise – from using taxpayer dollars to discriminate against anyone.
I have written more on this issue on my blog: http://www.501cweb.com