Why "faith-based" initiatives are bad.
The Catholic Church, in staggeringly un-Christian move, has decided to hold those all DC residents benefiting from though many charities run by the Catholic Church, many of which have, through "faith-based initiatives," largely replaced secular services, hostage until the District of Columbia alters its policies to be more in line with their doctrine requiring them to treat homosexuals as second class citizens. They have said that they will close all Catholic charities in DC unless the DC government changes its mind about honoring gay marriages. That is to say, they are using the "faith-based" charities that they run as leverage to dictate policy.
And let's not forget what happened the last time the Catholic Church got to dictate the policy of a major world power.
Leaving aside for a moment, the fact that this is world-class gnat-straining/camel-swallowing behavior, and that closing a charity because the city in which you are providing it is not hateful enough for your liking ( and I've heard all those claims that "it's not about hate." Bullshit.), is just about the most unchristian thing that I can imagine,---- because obscene levels of religious hypocrisy are not a matter of public policy---- the church's ultimatum is a very serious threat to our way of life, and that is a matter of public-policy. Well, not the ultimatum itself, but the policy that gave it teeth, and that policy is the replacement of the secular government social services with social services run by religious groups.
This is proof positive that freedom of religion is fundamentally incompatible with the outsourcing of our social safety net to religious organizations. This is conclusive proof of what those of us who care about the Constitution have been saying about this "faith-based" boondoggle all along: that way lies theocracy. The Catholic Church gives us only one choice. We must immediately cease all federal funding of church organizations.
This is important. This is the United States of America, the only nation in the world with freedom of religion written into its founding documents (I'm talking de juris here; de facto religious freedom is another matter), but we are a secular nation and we were founded as a secular nation, and that is special, and a religious organization will dictate policy in my country over my dead body.
And let's not forget what happened the last time the Catholic Church got to dictate the policy of a major world power.
Leaving aside for a moment, the fact that this is world-class gnat-straining/camel-swallowing behavior, and that closing a charity because the city in which you are providing it is not hateful enough for your liking ( and I've heard all those claims that "it's not about hate." Bullshit.), is just about the most unchristian thing that I can imagine,---- because obscene levels of religious hypocrisy are not a matter of public policy---- the church's ultimatum is a very serious threat to our way of life, and that is a matter of public-policy. Well, not the ultimatum itself, but the policy that gave it teeth, and that policy is the replacement of the secular government social services with social services run by religious groups.
This is proof positive that freedom of religion is fundamentally incompatible with the outsourcing of our social safety net to religious organizations. This is conclusive proof of what those of us who care about the Constitution have been saying about this "faith-based" boondoggle all along: that way lies theocracy. The Catholic Church gives us only one choice. We must immediately cease all federal funding of church organizations.
This is important. This is the United States of America, the only nation in the world with freedom of religion written into its founding documents (I'm talking de juris here; de facto religious freedom is another matter), but we are a secular nation and we were founded as a secular nation, and that is special, and a religious organization will dictate policy in my country over my dead body.