Fate of Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

Under republican rule, the evangelical right has gained a great deal of ground in their war to restore medieval ('traditional') values. A major thrust of their theocratic strategy is to push the myth of religious discrimination. They will claim that their First Amendment right to freedom of religion allows them to express their religion in any way they or their minions see fit. In fact, the tendency of evangelical action in regard to religious discrimination is to tread unconstitutionally into establishment clause violations.

One of the most egregious examples of violating the establishment clause is the creation of a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The express purpose of this office is to channel taxpayer money to religious institutions in the form of grants to perform social services. There is a vast supply of court decisions showing grants for religious programs are unconstitutional.

The Congress has never authorized the FBCI, nor appropriated funds for it. It exists only by executive order of the decider.

History of FBCI

• [Unlevel Playing Field] On January 29, 2001, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13198 [and 13199], creating Centers for Faith-Based & Community Initiatives in five cabinet departments

• Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT [at the time]) introduced the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act on February 8, 2002. Cosponsors included Rick Santorum (R-PA), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Sam Brownback (R-KS). The bill came out of the Senate Finance Committee and had an interesting legislative life, but never made it to Bush's desk for signing.
• On December 12, 2002, Bush issues Executive Order 13279 which says:

  No organization should be discriminated against on the basis of religion or religious belief in the administration or distribution of Federal financial assistance under social service programs

• The FBCI has collected data since 2003, and, therefore, exists as a real federal agency that has spent taxpayer money.

Why FBCI is unconstitutional

Alex J. Luchenitser provides a wonderful analysis for Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU.org):

Current case law thus bars government funding of social service providers if such funding does not, at minimum, satisfy all three of the following requirements: (1) the aid must be distributed based on neutral, secular criteria; (2) the aid must be secular in content; and (3) the aid must not actually be used for religious indoctrination or activity.

In Mitchell v Helms, decided with a narrow concurrence by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to the plurality, the Louisiana Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 was tested in Jefferson Parish because funds distributed by the state go primarily to private (mostly Catholic) schools there. O'Connor relied on the case Agostini v Felton in establishing precedent.

Under Agostini, the Court asks whether the government acted with the purpose of advancing or inhibiting religion and whether the aid has the "effect" of doing so. The specific criteria used to determine an impermissible effect have changed in recent cases, which disclose three primary criteria to guide the determination: (1) whether the aid results in governmental indoctrination, (2) whether the program defines its recipients by reference to religion, and (3) whether the aid creates an excessive entanglement between government and religion.

Because 'entanglement' is such a complicated legal standard (more on that in the near future), O'Connor simplifies the list somewhat.

Accordingly, for purposes of deciding whether Chapter 2, as applied in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, violates the Establishment Clause, we need ask only whether the program results in governmental indoctrination or defines its recipients by reference to religion.

Given these criteria, the case in question was decided (by O'Connor's concurrence) in favor of the faith-based institution, since it was found to satisfy the criteria.

Quoting from the AU's terrific analysis:

O'Connor sets the standard here that faith-based programs should meet: funds allocated on neutral, secular criteria; supplementary aid, not supplanting of funds; secular aid with adequate safeguards against discrimination, indoctrination, or prosyletizing.

And to provide one example of where funding was considered unconstitutional:

In DeStefano v. Emergency Housing Group, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the state could not constitutionally fund an alcohol crisis center if the crisis center’s staff supervised religious Alcoholics Anonymous (“A.A.”) meetings or otherwise took part in the inculcation of A.A. views. The court explained that, since A.A. has a “substantial religious component,” it should be considered a “religion” for purposes of the Establishment Clause.

Because AA requires a religious component it would either discriminate or indoctrinate. It is, therefore, prohibited from receiving federal funds. While AA is well-known, other groups unconstitutionally receiving federal money are now numerous, thanks to the former administration (feels great to use that phrase).

Taxpayer money diverted to religious groups

USAToday said last week that over $10 billion had been dished out in this unconstitutional giveaway.

According to White House tallies, nonprofit groups received $15.3 billion in competitive grants in fiscal year 2007, an increase of 3.9% over the previous year. That figure included $2.2 billion to faith-based nonprofits, which have received federal grants of more than $10.6 billion since the initiative got underway in 2002.

While not all of that money may be unconstitutional, it is incredibly likely that a significant portion of it is. I think it is not only critical that we end this program, but that we investigate it among the other crimes of the Bush administration.

Ending FBCI

The FBCI was formed via executive fiat. Therefore, it would be a simple matter for our new President to repeal the relevent executive orders. He has a few others to go through, first, I understand, but I will not let him forget to end this egregious waste of taxpayer money.

Summary

Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative was another executive boondoggle that is both ineffective (like abstinence-only eduction and alcoholics anonymous meetings) and unconstitutional. As this program was created by executive order, it is entirely within the power of President Barack Obama to close it down and end federal grants to religious non-profit organizations that seek to discriminate, indoctrinate, or proselytize. I have no doubt a number of worthy organizations received federal funds entirely legally. But I equally have no doubt that a significant chunk of that $10.6 billion went to organizations that have no business getting federal grants or contracts.