It's your money... all $2.7 BILLION of it. And in Detroit, federal officials are going out of their way to encourage churches and other religious groups to grab all they call. Through the "Faith-Based Partnership," public funds are being used to pay for housing, social service programs and other projects which are operated by organized religion.

Web Posted: May 20, 1998

p to $2.7 BILLION could be the treasure trove for churches in the Detroit, Michigan area where the federal government has taken the initiative and urged religious groups to help themselves to public grants in order to build new housing, operate shelters and "fight crime" in neighborhoods.

   Under the aegis of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a project known as the "Faith-Based Partnership" has been established to assist area churches in applying for and winning public grants. This week, HUD officials will be meeting with representatives of 200 to 300 religious groups in the Detroit area. "We're trying to do a better job of reaching out to the faith community because so many people in the faith community have been on the front lines of community development for so many years," said HUD spokesman Alex Sachs, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press.

    The HUD handouts come in response to efforts by clerical groups throughout the country that are seeking a "partnership" with government in administering social programs and other reaches. The Press noted that "Metro pastors have been pushing for such a partnership for some time," and cited recent meetings between HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and even Vice President Al Gore with Edgar Vann, a local Baptist minister. Vann said that the churches were "looking for ways we can contribute in helping save our neighborhoods."

    But there is evidence that churches might be seeking public funding, and a way to "save" communities on their terms. It is not as if the participation of churches and other religious groups is an essential component in public housing or other community out reaches. In fact, notes the Press, "Churches will be competing with local governments, universities, public housing agencies and nonprofits for the HUD housing and community development funds."

Church Greed -- Left & Right

    The use of public money for "faith-based" social programs has become an agenda for a diverse range of religious organizations, from the conservative Christian Coalition to the Roman Catholic Church and trendy, liberal mainstream ecclesiastical groups. Christian Coalition has been promoting its version of government subsidies for churches through schemes like the American Community Renewal Act, introduced by CC Congressional poster boy J.C. Watts (R-OK), which would eliminate restrictions on the funding of "faith based" social programs. The final portion of the controversial Religious Freedom Amendment, to be taken up by the full congress in early June, would also eliminate discrimination in denying churches and other faith groups any "benefit" on account of religion. Critics charge that these and other proposals open the public treasury for funding of churches, and would require Atheists and others to essentially support and subsidized religious proselytizing.

    But the Christian Coalition isn't the only organization getting in on the act, nor are religious conservatives alone in their desire to raid the public treasury. In December, 1997, the religious umbrella group, Call To Renewal, urged the nation's governors to take advantage of legal loopholes and the so- called "charitable choice" provision of the Welfare Reform Act, and begin funneling public monies to faith-based social projects. Formed in 1995, CTR has attempted to position itself as "a clear and visible alternative public voice to the Religious Right." But it also claims to offer "a new and more spiritual politics transcending the old categories of Left and Right, liberal and conservative." CTR, like Promise Keepers, also claims that it opposes racism and seeks "racial reconciliation," and talks about "rebuilding family and community."

    The New York Times, in noting the Call To Renewal panhandling of the nation's governors and taxpayers, observed that "religious leaders say few states have begun charitable choice, either because they are unaware of it or because they fear that such church-state entanglements could be unconstitutional."

   A spokesperson for the CTR replied, "From the government side there have all these objections to church-state cooperation," adding, "Some people are just terribly nervous about churches..."

    Representatives from nearly 40 different clerical groups signed on to the Call To Renewal agenda to take advantage of "charitable choice." The "choice" is not at the taxpayer end; but there is a requirement that at least in theory, requires the administering religious group to neither evangelize or discriminate against potential recipients of aid. Critics suggest that is a tall order, and a form of backdoor funding for religious outreach.

"Partnership" -- Your Money, Their Church

    The state-church separation aspect of the Detroit program, along with the sheer scale of public monies which are involved, have given some pause to consider the actions of HUD and the local religious groups. A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union said that the letter from the Housing and Urban Development office "raises serious questions about HUD's commitment to the separation between church and state."

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From the government side there have been all these objections to church-state cooperation... Some people are just terribly nervous about churches.

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    "It's almost an invitation for religious organizations to not only apply for and obtain federal funding, but also to proselytize to those who obtain housing benefits."

    Worse yet, the original draft letter had segments that could have been written by "Christian revisionists" and hard-shell religious right activists! According to the Free Press account, the letter "says that while they (founding fathers) guaranteed freedom of religion and provided for the separation of church and state, 'they never provided for the separation of Faith from State'." Those potentially embarrassing -- and historically inaccurate -- claims were removed from the final letter. Instead, Secretary Cuomo enthusiastically declared that he was "looking forward to establishing a new partnership with Faith Based, Community Based and Nonprofit organizations to continue the work of bringing both the blessing and benefits to all citizens..."

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