Faith Based Initiatives and the Moral Lowground

[Dancing David]

Recently in Danville, Illinois there was an incident that makes me wonder about GWB and his push to give more federal money to faith based initiatives.

In this case there was a reverend and her husband also a reverend. They opened a shelter for teen moms and thier children. Actualy the kind of thing that us social service providers wish we had more of.

Except now the male member of the two reverends has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and two counts of battery with more counts pending. Now of course this is a pending investigation, but it does make me think, especialy with all the scandal racked up by the Catholic church.

In my town we have a gospel based provider that has similar boundary issues when it comes to taking sexual advantage of the residents. No charges yet, although there is a great rumor they are being watched by the DEA.

So is there really the moral high ground here for faith based initiatives?

1. Are they really likely to do more good with money than other non-profits?

2. Are they just as likely to abuse thier power than other not for profits?

My main concern: in the two cases I know of localy, there is no oversight by anybody of what these people do, there is no church council, there is no board of elders, no synod, no nothing to oversee the morals or ethics of the people involved.

Most FBI have a hard time meeting any sort of oversight requirements that local governments might put on them. Should the Federal government really do this and give them more money?

[Mycroft]

I personally am very religious. I have a great deal of respect for other people who are religious, even if their religion is not the same as mine. So long as their religion leads to moral behavior, good deeds, and involvement with the community, I'm all for it.

At the same time, I notice that religion attracts people who are immoral, just as it attracts people who are moral. I don't pretend to understand why this is.

[Charlie Monoxide]

I'm not sure of all the details of Bush and Co. faith based initiatives. I would prefer my hard-earned tax dollars NOT go to any religeous based charities. If they want to raise money on their own, all the power to them.

Can a Wiccan, Church of Satan, or any flavour of a mosque get the same considerations of this initiative? I would hope so.

Charlie (Ronald Reagan letter - Dear Gorbachov, how is your evil empire, mine is doing fine ....) Monoxide

[Dancing David]

Wow, the vote so far is that FGI sit in the moral low ground, 10 to zero for any other category.

I really thought there would be more of a middle ground vote!

[Lemastre]

We have ample evidence that persons and groups who flaunt their religiosity are at least as likely to be morally faulty as those who don't. The idea of letting religion-based groups do community services might be acceptable as long as they don't use tax dollars to promote religion. I suspect that the only reason most of them would involve themselves with such programs is just so they can proselytize their clients. Were the clients sophisticated enough to simply decline all that, then perhaps the situation would sort itself out. To the extent that the clients feel obligated to go along with the religion thing, they are being mistreated and public funds are being misappropriated. The Bush administration's idea of funding religious groups seems naive at best and at worst just another attempt by the religious right to foist its views on the public.

[Theodore Kurita]

If Federal Funding does go to Faith Based Initiatives...

That in of itself is a violation of the separation of church and state!


Criminals could easily get into any Faith Based Initiatives... In turn it is on the same moral plane as Secular Based Initiatives....

Although Faith Based Initiatives, just for the fact that they violate Separation of Church and State, makes me put them on a lower moral plane than a secular based initiative...

Forcing a Religion upon anyone is violation of that persons freedom's!

[fishbob]

At the same time, I notice that religion attracts people who are immoral, just as it attracts people who are moral. I don't pretend to understand why this is.

Religious people tend to look less critically at those who claim to be religious. Crooks know this and take advantage of this.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by Mycroft
I personally am very religious. I have a great deal of respect for other people who are religious, even if their religion is not the same as mine. So long as their religion leads to moral behavior, good deeds, and involvement with the community, I'm all for it.

At the same time, I notice that religion attracts people who are immoral, just as it attracts people who are moral. I don't pretend to understand why this is.

Because morality has nothing to do with religion.

[EdipisReks]

Originally posted by a_unique_person


Because morality has nothing to do with religion.

i disagree, but only because i don't believe in morality. i would say that ethics have nothing to do with religion.

[Dancing David]

17 to 3, wow, I thought it would run more evn. All these views and no votes, if you look please vote!