The White House Office on Faith Based and Community Initiatives is now open for business, but the prospect of minority faith groups receiving federal funds is already creating unlikely critics of so-called “charitable choice” plans.
The office opened Feb. 20 and White House officials said a flood of calls poured in. The office is charged with reviewing spending policies and building support for legislation to enact President Bush’s recently announced faith-based initiative. But news reports have indicated that many are calling believing the office already has money to distribute, which it does not.
But if spending bills are passed to expand “charitable choice” measures that allow thoroughly religious organizations to receive tax dollars without having to create nonprofit organizations separate and independent from the church, many are beginning to line up for the funds. One group is the Church of Scientology, which plans to seek government support for its drug and literary programs. A Scientology official told Associated Baptist Press that the programs were separate organizations from the church.
In an interview with The New York Times during the campaign, Bush had said, “I have a problem with the teachings of Scientology being viewed on the same par as Judaism or Christianity. But I am interested in results. I am not focused on the process.” Also, The New York Times recently reported that Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church plans to seek aid for its abstinence programs in school. These reports have led to criticism of the Bust plan from one of the president’s key supporters during the election.
Pat Robertson, president of the Christian Coalition, made comments critical of the Bush initiative recently on his “700 Club” program.
“This thing could be a Pandora’s box,” he said. (ABP)
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