Bush Indeed Breaches Church-State Wall

President Bush’s executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has thrown the fear of God into me. The office is billed as a way of clearing away bureaucratic obstacles between the independent sector and federal agencies, but I fear what is really being cleared away is the 1st Amendment’s sacred promise of separation of church and state.

No doubt our country faces significant challenges combating youth violence, substance abuse, child poverty and a host of other social woes. Equally clear is the beneficial role faith-based organizations play in helping alleviate these woes. Bush himself is a poster child for the value of spirituality in overcoming addiction, crediting his faith for turning him away from excessive alcohol consumption.

Reliance on religion to work social change is a personal, not a political, choice. Our Constitution so provides: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . .” Perhaps Bush’s justification for mixing politics and religion is grounded in defining what you mean by “separation.” I am concerned that no longer will separation of church and state mean the government cannot fund religious organizations’ missions to preach the tenets of their faith. Instead, separation could merely require that in so proselytizing, religious groups must also lend a helping hand to the downtrodden.

To say that the government is not funding the establishment of religion is to ignore the realities of faith-based social action. Religious organizations offer the promise of a healed life by extolling the virtues of a redeemed soul. Acceptance of the spiritual is inextricably linked to assistance for the secular ill. Can separation truly be achieved when the 12-step instructions are tucked neatly into the requisite Bible?

The prevalence of religion in the Bush administration is already an established reality. From the multiple utterances of God and Jesus in the inaugural ceremonies to removing funding for international family planning organizations, we have seen President Bush’s own faith dictate the direction of our nation’s public policy.

What is most insidious about these expressions of faith-based politics is that Bush’s own brand of faith has gained the imprimatur of the federal government. There is reason for concern that those whose faith, or lack thereof, strays from that embraced by the administration will face excommunication from the political ranks.

If it is the role of government to remain neutral in the battle between religiosity and secularism, the Bush administration has defiantly chosen sides. It has sided with those who believe our social fabric is best woven by a common faith; a faith that is unabashedly invoked in public ceremonies, a faith that obstructs a woman’s right to choose, a faith that would disregard the centuries-old separation of church and state for the sake of dominating public policy for the next four or more years. Let us pray we can all join the ranks of the faithful, lest we be the forgotten.