AP Finds Wyo. DFS Gives Money to Churches

[deadparrot]

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The Wyoming Department of Family Services has funneled tens of thousands of dollars to a grant program administered by a private religious corporation that has funded churches, ministries and religiously oriented anti-abortion centers, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Family Services Director Rodger McDaniel says the state payments to the company, Faith Initiatives of Wyoming, are entirely proper, despite arguments by some that the arrangement appears to violate the state constitution.

"What we're buying is not religious services but social services," McDaniel said.

The company's contract with the state, which was approved by the state attorney general's office, calls for it to assist existing faith-based and community organizations provide community services in such areas as "strengthening families" and "at-risk youth."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/faith_initiatives

[Kagemusha]

1. Nothing wrong unless the content of the services is religious.

Everything wrong if the content of the services is religious.

[WildClarySage]

4. But these private organizations often discriminate

based on religious grounds against job and program applicants. And discrimination paid for by MY tax dollars IS wrong.

[kestrel91316]

6. I betcha you have to "accept Jesus" to get services..................

Or maybe have to show you are on the path to salvation to continue getting services over time.

[babylonsister]

2. Separation of church and state. Someone has to acknowledge

that, and the repercussions, which in Utah are hugh!?;@

[Erika]

3. This is wrong, wrong, wrong

and one reason why many people have stopped their donations to religious organizations, as I have. This activity steals our tax $ for religious advantage.

One thing I will credit the LDS Church (Mormons) for is that they refuse to join in these programs, saying that true giving comes from a member's heart not the government taxes.

[donsu]

5. I was going to post some more from the article but the article has

been removed and replaced with a different one. even on buzzflash where I saw the article. the headline is still there but when clicked goes to a different article??????

anyway, the article told how the preacher was telling the congregations who to vote for. I forget the names.

[noonwitch]

7. We refer people to a housing agency that requires church attendance

It isn't state money, though, and most of us inform our clients of this before referring them to that program. It's a church-run and funded program-they require you to go to the church of your choice while participating. For people who want to reconnect to their church backround, sometimes these programs benefit the whole family, because inner-city churches usually have lots of programs-low-income daycare, donated food giveaways, youth groups and athletic opportunities for teens, school tutoring programs, substance abuse counseling, etc. Being part of a spiritual community can be very good for people who need lots of emotional support, too, especially people recovering from drug addiction. The state shouldn't be funding this type of thing, but it's fine if we point people in that direction with full disclosure, because it is ultimately that person's decision to participate or not.

The Mel Trotter missions make the homeless listen to a sermon before feeding them. It's their money, they can give it as they please. Most of the hungry and homeless don't really care if they have to listen to a sermon first, as long as they get some food and a warm place to sleep.

The church and other religious organizations can make a big difference in a community. I have no problem with some level of church/state cooperation in order to get the naked clothed, the hungry fed, and the imprisoned visited. There just has to be a clear line about coercion and funding.

[Sivafae]

11. I totally agree with you, BUT

What kind of religious organizations can those that are helped out by this program attend? What if the Church of Satan has really nice support programs? The reliance on Christian organizations, while helpful, is really just meant to herd people.

"Most of the hungry and homeless don't really care if they have to listen to a sermon first, as long as they get some food and a warm place to sleep."
This is the first step in brainwashing, just ask Patti Hearst. I have problems with any religion that uses these tactics to boost its membership.

[noonwitch]

12. It's a sermon, it's not brainwashing

What was done to Patty Hearst is not what the Mel Trotter mission is doing. Patty Hearst was abducted, sexually abused, and dehumanized by her captors. She was subjected to sensory deprivation and other techniques that are brainwashing, even if the SLA was not a religious group.

The mission, which is primarily working with skid-row alcoholics and drug addicts, requires them to listen to a sermon before giving them dinner. The mission receives no government money, but exists on donations. They can put whatever strings on it they like, because it's their money. I do know a little bit about the populations served by those kind of missions-they are chronic alcoholics and addicts, who live on the street and have no intention of changing their lives. To get welfare, they have to check into treatment, which they will leave as soon as they want to drink again, with a little cash to buy something with. To get fed by the mission, they just have to listen to a sermon. They also will leave when they want to drink again, but they know they can come back without major repercussions. For some of those guys, the mission people are the only ones who know their names.

If it wasn't for churches running missions in distressed inner-city communities, the "skid row bums" would have nowhere to go for help and many more would die every winter than currently do. People who are afraid to go to government-sponsored agencies are not paranoid about the mission on the corner, in their neighborhood.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Here's a working link to the same article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/22/ap/national/mainD8HP2H300.shtml

more from the article:

Although the Bush Administration has encouraged the use of federal funds to pay for "faith-based" social services, a section of the Wyoming State Constitution reads: "No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution."

Bruce DeBoskey, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in Wyoming and Colorado, said his group has grave reservations about the DFS contract with Faith Initiatives.

"What kind of restrictions are in place with the use of federal and state funds, which are required by federal and state law, to keep church and state separation intact?" DeBoskey said. "And by appearances, from what we can see, this law is potentially being ignored, violated and flouted."
(snip)

[WhiteTara]

9. social programs offer food, shelter and clothing

here you get some fool telling you, you will go to hell if you don't think like them. I wish they had a AG in Wyoming who would put a stop to this horror. I don't pay taxes to set up hate centers.
:grr:

[Judi Lynn]

10. Hate is the correct word. I grew amid fundamentalists. They CONSTANTLY

are monitoring everyone and each other's attitude, and behavior, breathing down each other's necks, and all in the name of religion.

It's a stifling, repressive, closed world. Godawful.

Giving these people authority over people in need is sadistic.