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Advocacy Blog
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Federal Grant for Marriage Program Challenged for Religious Content
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) recently filed an updated complaint in their lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) challenging use of public funds for the Northwest Marriage Institute's bible based marriage counseling program. The Institute received a direct grant of $50,000 from the Department of Health and Human Service's Compassion Capital Fund, to help small religious groups increase their ability to compete for government contracts. A second $50,000 subgrant came from the nonprofit Institute for Youth Development and a third grant of $246,000 went to the group through the HHS Healthy Marriage Initiative.
The lawsuit contends that the marriage education program is essentially religious, providing examples from previous newsletters written by the founder, Dr. Bob Whiddon.
The complaint , states, "Both its premarital and marriage-counseling seminars include session on 'God's Plan for a Healthy Marriage.' Participants in those sessions learn that God designed marriage, and they receive instruction on God's plan for how marriage should work. Attendees at the Marriage Institute's programs will 'discover tools, embedded in God's Word, that can be used in real life to resolve real life problems."
Attorneys for AU argue that the nonprofit used the grant money to create these materials and others like it, and to pay some of the salaries of the employees who engaged in Bible based counseling. Further details of how the program operates will emerge as the case moves toward trial.
The Institute case also challenges federal capacity building grants meant to help small religious groups compete for more federal funding. AU contends such funds will be used for purchasing computers or developing a website, and both will ultimately be used to support the group's religious work. But Whiddon told the New York Times "The grants say that I'm allowed to do things that will allow me to increase the capacity of my organization to serve the community …None of what we do with the money is for religious purposes."
Posted by Kay Guinane
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