"My attitude is, the government should not fear faith-based programs — we ought to welcome faith-based programs and we ought to fund faith-based programs," he said from the pulpit of the packed Union Bethel A.M.E Church in a run-down, crime-plagued neighborhood near this city's downtown. "Faith-based programs are only effective because they do practice faith. It's important for our government to understand that."

  --President Bush, 01/15/04, during a speech about his faith-based initiatives

Our president has put both feet onto the top of a slippery "establishment of religion" slope, hasn't he? Sure has. But we're lucky: America will never have a religion-based government ... not even one run by those hippie Unitarian Universalists. But that doesn't mean we can't have a government that oversteps its bounds when it comes to religion.

In order to prevent government-sponsored religious injustices from occurring in the U.S., such as the implicit endorsement of one religion over another or all others, we need to roll back some of Bush's faith-based initiatives. The problem: Bush's programs fund religious intervention, not just social services. And that ain't right.

Helping Those In Need

Every once in a while, Bush sounds like a closet liberal. For instance, he says that the efforts of religious groups, "such as feeding the homeless, teaching neighborhood children karate and running a day-care center — are a perfect example of the kind of programs the federal government should fund."

Hey, I agree. Those are the types of programs our federal government should fund: secular programs run by religious or secular organizations. As long as the people who work for a religious organization receiving federal dollars don't have to pass a religious litmus test, and as long as the group isn't evangelizing their religion, I'm good. Federally funded assistance to the poor and needy should come without a religion lesson or attempt to save someone's soul.

For example: No sermons at the soup kitchen. No Gideon bibles at the karate lessons. No prayers at the day care center. No "come here for this service, which you are in great need of ... as long as you listen to my proselytizing." No conditions, no price tag, no nothing but the service itself.

Not So Fast, George

So on the one hand, Bush sounds like he's talking about letting religious organizations compete for federal funding to support their social services but not their religious outreach programs.

But on the other hand, just when I thought I could give him a pat on the back, I kept reading what he said last week.

Problems that face our society are oftentimes problems that, you know, require something greater than just a government program or a government counselor to solve. Intractable problems, problems that seem impossible to solve, can be solved. There is the miracle of salvation that is real, that is tangible, that is available for all to see. [italics mine]