Giving religious groups federal funds for social services has wide support - until it's time to choose which would qualify. But when it comes to the details of who should receive grants and what activities can be funded, that support begins to disperse as fast as sacramental incense. Those findings, released last week by the Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, spell out the steep challenge facing the White House's controversial faith-based initiative. Make that very steep.
Public opinion is really all over the map.
Americans are fine with mainstream Christian and Jewish institutions receiving federal funds, but they balk at participation by Muslims, Buddhists and Scientologists, which is a serious obstacle since President Bush has insisted that the initiative would be open to all religions and sects. That's just one potential hurdle. There's the hiring issue. The survey found a surprisingly powerful objection to allowing religious groups that use government funds to hire only people who share their beliefs. Yes, there is plenty for critics of the faith-based initiative to seize on in this survey, whether they be from the left or the right.