Religious Charities Gear Up to Fight Federal Hiring Proposal

Nonprofit groups with religious ties are gearing up to fight a bill in Congress that would prevent them from obtaining federal money if they consider the faith of a job applicant for programs that receive government aid.

Meanwhile, an opposing group says the bill doesn’t do enough to ensure that government money isn’t used to finance groups that discriminate against people because of their religious affiliations.

More than 100 nonprofits, led by World Vision, a Christian group, are protesting the language in the pending bill, which they say would create a “seismic change” in the law.

The bill says the federal government won’t award religious-affiliated organizations grant money “unless the applicant agrees to refrain from considering religion or any profession of faith when making any employment decision regarding an individual who is or will be assigned to carry out any portion of the activity.”

The provision is part of legislation that governs federal substance-abuse treatment money.

Opposing Views

Under current law, religious groups can receive government aid as long as they refrain from choosing whom to serve based on religious affiliation, but it allows them more freedom on hiring and other issues than secular groups get.

Changing that approach would cause problems for religious groups, their officials say.

Anthony R. Picarello Jr., general counsel at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, says “a provision like this one is bad in principle and bad in practice.”

He adds: “It threatens laws that are sound in theory and have served everybody well, including the government, the needy who are served, and the organizations involved, as well as their employees who are there because they share the mission.”

An opposing group, the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination, whose members include the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, has been lobbying Congress to prohibit groups from getting any federal aid if they consider a worker’s religion in making hiring decisions.

“Where government funds are present, discrimination of any kind should be absent,” says the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance.