A federal district court in Wisconsin has held that a direct government grant to Faith Works, which operates a program for recovering addicts, is unconstitutional because the program integrates religious activity with direct social services. Read the court's opinion in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Faith Works Milwaukee. (A login ID is required to access this document from the PACER system. See PACER for more information.)
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A working group on faith-based and community initiatives headed by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and former Senator Harris Wofford has released its recommendations for legislation. These recommendations are largely in agreement with the positions of OMB Watch on the faith-based issues (see our "Charitable Choice" page for more information).
Major recommendations include:
- Initiatives to increase charitable giving, both from individuals and institutional donors
- Increased technical assistance to small organizations
- Setting up separate 501(c)(3) organizations for churches that wish to deliver social services
- Forbidding employment discrimination for any federally-funded position, as well as racial discrimination for any program, even if it is ostensibly based on religious beliefs
While the recommendations made in the report are in no way binding, since Santorum is one of the champions of this legislation, it is assumed that many of them will find their way into legislation. Read the full report .