July 25, 2001

The Bush administration and the House of Representatives want to use tax dollars to fund churches and faith groups that offer social services. But these services would not be open to all Americans.

Historically, religious groups have been required to abide by the same rules as every other government contractor -- in return for public dollars, they agree not to discriminate against their employees and not to use government money to preach.

Now Bush's faith-based initiative proposes to change the rules to allow religious groups that receive government funding to discriminate and proselytize. As the recent flap over the Salvation Army demonstrates, Republicans were ready to give a green light to anti-gay discrimination.

Proponents of the faith-based initiative, such as Reps. J.C. Watt, R-Okla., and Tony Hall, D-Ohio, like to focus on the charitable works religious groups perform. But while they do provide needed services to some people, that doesn't mean they should be allowed to use tax dollars to discriminate against others.

Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services was planning on giving $4 million in HIV-prevention money for minority communities to churches and religious groups.

Before the administration pulled the HIV-church program in response to protests, a spokesperson for the department defended it with the rationale that religious groups "have access to the young people we are trying to reach," according to a May 19 Associated Press article.

While churches could be effective in reaching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, it is unlikely that they would be willing or able to provide the frank and open sex education that LGBT youth need to avoid HIV infection. For one thing, many churches still cling to anti-gay beliefs or cultivate a "don't ask, don't tell" environment with their gay members.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study last month showing that a third of young black men who have sex with men are HIV-positive, and the infection rate among these young people is nearly 15 percent annually. These numbers rival those found in sub-Saharan Africa, an area ravaged by the virus.

But despite such a serious situation, many churches in African-American communities have not risen to the challenge of providing non-judgmental, effective HIV education to young black gay men. There is an inherent conflict between many churches' disapproval of homosexuality and their ability to provide complete information about safe sex.

The problem is at least as serious among predominantly white churches and religious groups like the Salvation Army, many of which lack the civil rights consciousness of their African-American counterparts.

For example, the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children is the largest provider of services to teens in trouble in Kentucky and receives most of its budget from the state. It's also openly anti-gay. The agency's official employment policy says that it won't hire gay people -- even though the state pays the salaries of Baptist Homes' employees -- because homosexuality is inconsistent with the agency's version of Christianity.

The head of the Baptist Homes is on record with his view that homosexuality is an illness that can be cured through prayer and spiritual counseling. This view contradicts the advice of many health professionals who agree that gay youth respond better to information presented to them with respect rather than with moralizing.

Religious groups that receive public funds must pledge not to use their beliefs to discriminate against either employees or clients. What's more, they must be willing to provide appropriate services to all people.

Unless the administration requires publicly funded religious groups to live by these rules, Bush's faith-based initiative does not deserve the support of the American people.

Michael Adams is deputy legal director at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the nation's oldest and largest legal organization working for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men and people with HIV/AIDS. He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.