Several years ago Morgan got New York City money to open another facility, where religious activities are available but must be run by volunteers. Today city officials rank the program their most effective in leading men out of homelessness and addiction. Nevertheless, if government regulators threaten the agency's spiritual mission, Morgan vows to walk. I'm ready to go to the board of directors any day and say, I'm sorry, this is untenable. The question of proselytizing is a touchy one for both Left and Right, for opposite reasons.
Liberals see a slippery slope toward coercing participants into religious activities.
Conservative detractors see a slouching toward secularization, denaturing religious charities at their core. And that seems to be patently discriminatory. Many ministers and other leaders, however, take a different view. Charles Ballard, president of the Institute for Responsible Fatherhood in Washington, D.C., for example, already gets federal money for fatherhood programs and job training. His organization moves married couples into blighted neighborhoods, where they befriend men and help them reconnect with their families.