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A major policy initiative by U.S. President George W. Bush to increase federal support for faith-based organizations and charities that provide social services is drawing mixed reactions from the nation's faith communities.

The initiative, announced during a series of appearances by the new president late in January, would allow faith-based groups to compete for about $10 billion in funds for various social service programs—in effect, opening up the management of many programs to faith-based groups and charities.

The plan also creates a White House office for faith-based initiatives and calls for five federal agencies to assist faith-based groups in expanding their social services.

President Bush also wants to increase tax deductions available to faith-based groups to encourage Americans to donate more money to charities.

President Bush, a United Methodist who openly discussed his faith during the 2000 presidential campaign, said that religious groups were often in a better position to provide assistance to the needy than the federal government.

At the same time, he said that the federal government must maintain the official U.S. constitutional separation of church and state, and that federal funds would not be used for expressly religious purposes.

"We will encourage faith-based and community programs without changing their mission," the president said in announcing the new initiative. "We will help all [of them] in their work to change hearts while keeping a commitment to pluralism."

Criticism of the plan has stemmed from two major concerns: first, that the initiative puts at risk the boundary between church and state; second, that faith-based groups, particularly congregations, often do not have the capacity to implement social service programs and cannot take the government's place in providing social services.

In a letter sent on January 30 to President Bush, 19 national organizations including civil rights, civil liberties, education and some religious groups—among them the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs—said they were concerned that the proposal raised constitutional questions about the separation of church and state.

The letter urged President Bush to guarantee that groups receiving federal funds must not discriminate on the basis of religion.

Some Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish leaders also criticized the proposal, as did gay and lesbian groups who feared that the proposals could result in discrimination against homosexuals by federally-funded religious charities.

"I don't think President Bush knew how much opposition there would be from so many different kinds of groups," said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

However, others hailed the initiative as a practical and much needed way to assist those in need. "Faith-based programs have the potential to be successful in ways that government efforts have failed," said Amy Sherman, a senior fellow on welfare policy at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think-tank.

Saying that the public and faith-based sectors have "complementary roles to play," Sherman told ENI that "government does best in addressing structural issues." But Sherman's own experiences in several local ministries have led her to believe that often what those experiencing poverty most need "is a friend, and that is something that government is not well-positioned to provide."

"Faith-based efforts have human resources—human capital—that can be involved in intensive, holistic efforts to assist people," she said. "Faith-based and community-based programs can be innovative, personal, and flexible.

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February (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45