Naked City

On Dec. 12, during the same Philadelphia press conference in which he signaled his abandonment of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, President Bush announced an executive order making it easier for "faith-based" charities to receive federal contracts for social welfare programs -- even if they fail to follow federal equal-protection rules in hiring. "The days of discriminating against religious groups just because they are religious are coming to end," said Bush. Henceforth -- in the interests of anti-discrimination -- religious charities seeking federal contracts will be allowed to discriminate in making hiring decisions based on religious belief.

Similar legislation supported by the administration foundered in the Senate last year precisely because of the question of non-discrimination in hiring, a standard of federal contracting since 1941. Critics point out that the new rules would allow not just the hiring of only co-religionists, but discrimination against any job seeker who does not fit within the prescribed ideological limits of the sectarian charitable organization. (Faith-based organizations have always been able to receive federal funds, and many do so, as long as they follow regulations against discrimination and proselytizing.)

Observers speculating on the prospects of Bush's national faith-based initiatives can look to Texas, where then-Gov. Bush appointed a Task Force on Faith-based Programs in 1996. This prepared the ground for 1997 legislation exempting faith-based programs in drug treatment and child care from state regulation, and 1999 legislation directing the Texas Workforce Commission to establish job-training programs in partnership with faith-based providers. (The latter was enabled by John Ashcroft-sponsored "charitable choice" legislation during the Clinton administration.) Inevitably, lack of regulation of religious child care facilities resulted in child-abuse charges against the Roloff Homes (in 2001, Roloff administrators were convicted of criminal abuse), and the eventual abandonment of the religious accreditation system in light of the ineffectiveness and conflicts of interest on the accreditation commission.

Coincidentally, the president's language in announcing his executive order echoes language used by Trent Lott in a 1981 "friend of the court" brief arguing that Bob Jones University should retain its federal tax-exempt status despite a school policy against interracial dating. "If racial discrimination in the interest of diversity does not violate public policy," the Mississippi senator wrote, "then surely discrimination in the practices of religion is no violation."

A report analyzing in detail the progress of the Texas faith-based programs, "The Texas Faith-Based Initiative at Five Years" was recently released by the Texas Freedom Network, and is available online at www.tfn.org.