March 3, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes
In a challenge to President Bush’s effort to allow more religious groups to gain access to government funds, two civil-liberties organizations have sued a Christian charity in Pennsylvania.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in Washington, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, accused Firm Foundation of Bradford County of using government dollars to pay for a job-training program at a local prison that included religious instruction. The two groups said Firm Foundation, in Towanda, Pa., pressured inmates to participate in prayer sessions, Bible study, and religious counseling. According to the lawsuit, about 90 percent of Firm Foundation’s budget for its job-training efforts comes from government funds, including money from a U.S. Department of Justice program.
“Giving public dollars to private groups to teach inmates job skills or promote other nonreligious services is an important part of this country’s social safety net, but using taxpayer dollars to convert a captive audience is unconstitutional,” Mary Catherine Roper, a lawyer with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
Wayne H. Blow, founder and president of Firm Foundation, said his organization allows participants in the program to opt out of religious sessions. If an inmate doesn’t want to stay for a lunch that includes “life skills” training from the Bible, “we don’t disrespect him because of that,” Mr. Blow said. “We still love him.”
Mr. Blow said the civil-liberties groups were ignoring the public good his charity has accomplished by teaching construction skills to inmates and helping to renovate dilapidated properties. “It’s about changing the community and changing people’s lives,” he said. “We feel honored they’re going against us. We’re standing up for what’s right.”
Hiring Practices
The lawsuit also alleges that Firm Foundation discriminated in its hiring practices by requiring job applicants to be Christian. According to Americans United, an employment advertisement posted by Firm Foundation said the group was seeking “a believer in Christ and Christian life today” to fill a vacant position.
Mr. Blow did not dispute that his organization wants to hire Christians.
Ira C. Lupu, a professor at George Washington University Law School who has monitored lawsuits involving government and religion, said the law remains unclear on whether religious organizations that get federal funds can discriminate for religious reasons in their hiring.
Mr. Lupu predicted, based on the outcomes of similar lawsuits in other states, that the civil-liberties groups would win the legal fight. However, he questioned whether their victory would slow down the Bush administration’s efforts to provide government dollars to religious charities. He noted that the federal government has yet to appeal court cases when it loses, which has meant that most of the cases so far do not set very broad precedent.
The case is known as Moeller, et al. v. Bradford County, et al., and was filed in the U.S. District Court in Scranton, Pa.
