Newspaper Article

Struggling to Have Faith In the Faith-Based Plan

Arlene Stein. Arlene Stein, author of "The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community's Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights," is a professor of sociology at Rutgers University

2002

Overview

I didn't think much about it again until a few days later, when I learned that President George W. Bush is pushing through his faith- based charity program, which promises to aid religious groups - even if they discriminate in their hiring practices on religious and moral grounds. Even Bush's own denomination - the United Methodist Church - opposes the faith-based plan. But these mainline Protestants don't comprise the base of the Republican Party. Conservative evangelicals do. They're the fastest growing religious constituency in the country, and Bush's plan is likely to channel a lot more money - and power - into their coffers. The president is pushing for faith- based social services at a time when the nation seems to be gearing up for war. Under fire in some circles for threatening unilateral action against Iraq, Bush and his advisers are seeking the moral high ground. But will talk of religious compassion make the president appear less bellicose, or is he killing us with kindness?

• Publisher: Newsday LLC
• Subject: Bush, George W