Lawsuit Claims Federal Funds Used for Religion
September 13, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in Washington, filed a lawsuit to block federal financing for the Northwest Marriage Institute, a Vancouver, Wash., organization that offers premarital and marriage counseling based on teachings in the Bible, The New York Times reports. Such funds can only be used for secular purposes, not “worship, religious instruction, or proselytization,” according to government rules.
The lawsuit argues that the institute, which received $97,750 in federal grants from the Department of Health and Human Services in 2005, uses the money to promote religion. Bob Whiddon Jr., director of the Northwest Marriage Institute, said none of the federal grant money has been used for religious purposes.
