Squeezing Faith Between Money and Politics

Re “Test of Lieberman’s Faith,” editorial, Aug. 22: It may be one thing to encourage religious institutions to increase their social welfare activities but a far different thing for churches and other faith-based organizations to do so through government funding. I should think that in trying to shepherd President Bush’s faith-based initiative through the Senate, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) will quickly realize that there is no way such a program can bridge the church-state divide without hopelessly entangling the federal government in religious affairs.

Will direct federal support permit religious groups to divert other funds for proselytizing? Who will decide whether sectarian organizations outside the mainstream can qualify for federal funding? Will civil rights laws at the federal or state level apply?

Unless such questions can be answered to everyone’s satisfaction, the preferred approach would be a change in the tax laws to allow individuals who don’t itemize deductions to do so for charitable contributions.

Harold N. Bass

Northridge

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How could initiating a program that gives public money to religious institutions to run social-service programs reflect Lieberman’s belief in the role of faith in public life? If that is how he feels, he is wrong.

Faith in public life is one thing--serving God’s commandment that we help the hungry and the homeless. Giving public money to a specific religious faith to run social-service programs is another. It eliminates the wall of separation of church and state and will inevitably lead to proselytizing and dissension. It’s a bad idea.

Jackie I. Brown

Fullerton