From: Phil deHaan (dehp@calvin.edu)
Date: Thu Dec 12 2002 - 16:44:00 EST
December 12, 2002 == MEDIA ADVISORY
President Bush issued an order on Thursday stepping up government support for
religious charities.
Bush told a White House-organized conference in Philadelphia on faith-based and
community initiatives that "the days of discriminating against religious groups
just because they are religious are coming to an end."
Calvin College professor Doug Koopman says the order Bush signed today is
essentially the most controversial part of the bill that was before the Senate
and was not passed. His hunch is that the White House will let faith-based
organizations (FBOs) work for a year under this new Presidential order and then
hope for a reconsideration of the bill just prior to the next elections.
Reuters notes that after addressing the crowd at the Philadelphia conference,
Bush signed an executive order requiring that federal agencies ensure that their
policies do not discriminate against organizations based on religion. The order
is designed to end what officials say is a practice of discouraging religious
groups or those with religious sounding names from seeking grants for their
social-service programs.
Bush said: ". . . government can and should support social services provided
by religious people as long as those services go to anyone in need, regardless
of their faith. And when government gives that support, charities and
faith-based programs should not be forced to change their character or
compromise their mission."
Koopman is working on a book on Bush's FBO initiative called "Of Little Faith:
The Politics of President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative." He and co-authors Amy
Black of Wheaton and Dave Ryden of Hope have finished interviews and are now
writing the book (the manuscript is due February 1 to Georgetown University
Press). Among them they have interviewed nearly everyone who has worked or is
working in the White House faith-based office, as well as all the key players in
the House and Senate.
Koopman says that President Bush, along with many supporters and members of
various religious communities, believes that the separation between church and
state has become too wide.
"President Bush," he says, "hopes that his faith based initiatives bill - which
allows religious organizations to receive direct federal funding to perform
social services - will create a better balance by establishing a standard for
religious equality while also maintaining a distinct separation between church
and state.
"Many would welcome a more robust role for religion in the public square and
believe in the intellectual respectability and clinical effectiveness of faith
based approaches. However, the political dynamics are complex. There are good
and practical grounds on which to support and oppose faith-based initiatives. By
accepting more government support a religious organization may be able to
increase their size and number of programs, but they will also be surrendering
their autonomy and accepting to adhere to government qualifications. Deeper
constitutional and political issues are also raised. At this time, our society
does not have a well-defined language regarding the rights and obligations of
religious groups. No matter one's particular views about faith-based
legislation, the issues surrounding the debate raise perennial concerns for
those who seek to combine deep religious commitment with contemporary politics
and public policy."
Contact Doug Koopman (COPE MAN) at 616-957-6706
-end-
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