Gatekeeping Between Government and Religion: Faith-Based Initiative Competition and Supervision

Abstract

Communities of the world's major religions have always incorporated care for others into their central teachings. Politicians have recently seized upon the relative success of these faith-based organizations' services. Many politicians and citizens see these faith-based services as a potential “outsource” to solve the problems of American poverty. Others see this outsourcing as a violation of the first amendment to the Constitution and the principle of separation between government and religion. In such a highly charged area of controversy, can there be any easy answers? This paper addresses two of the points of controversy: the manner in which groups will be selected to receive government funding and how those groups will be monitored in their use of the funds. [From introductory section]