Partners: God and Uncle Sam?

• Position: Federal financing for church-based charities

Should religious groups get federal dollars to help them serve the poor?

YES Faith-based charities can address America's social ills in a way that government simply cannot. They are working in every neighborhood in America to fight homelessness, addiction, and domestic violence, and to provide a hot meal or a mentor or a safe haven for our children.

Under current law, however, if a church, synagogue, or mosque wants to apply for federal funds, it has to establish a separate organization. This is a hurdle for smaller institutions.

That is why I support a bill to put President Bush's faith-based initiative into action. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives in July, would remove the barriers to federal financial aid for faith-based organizations with a proven track record.

For years, the federal government has been giving money to hospitals and universities run by religious groups. Federal aid is also routinely sent to faith-based charities in other countries. Our bill would simply extend such aid to faith-based organizations right here in America.

We are not proposing that federal money be used to fund religious activities themselves. Our bill contains safeguards to protect the separation of church and state. And if a beneficiary is uncomfortable with the faith tradition of the organization offering help, he or she must be given an alternative.

I hope the Senate will follow the House's lead and pass the faith-based initiative. The poor are waiting for us. We shouldn't let them down.

--REP. J. C. WATTS (R-Okla.)

NO As a minister, I admit that the idea of taxpayer-supported aid for my tax-exempt institution is tempting. But to be faithful to the constitutional separation of church and state, we should all be cautious about government subsidies for religiously based programs, however noble their goals.

I've been tempted before. Sixteen years ago, my church and 11 others received gifts of $10,000 each in state funds, secured by a New York State Senator, to support our community outreach efforts. I sent mine back. It would have been too easy to spend the money on religious programs, instead of charitable ones, and not be caught.

My church has more than a dozen social-service programs in New York's poor areas. So why not aid these programs with federal money? Because even religious institutions that place a high value on serving the poor almost always place a higher value on saving souls. They should. That is why they exist in the...