In other cases the rules are extremely restrictive. Sometimes the price of government funds has been the requirement that religious organizations must remove all religious symbols from their facilities or agree no longer to insist that employees must agree to the organization s faith statement and standards. Charitable Choice clears up confusion, forbids government from discriminating against religious groups when it makes funding decisions, and puts into the law specific protections for the religious character of groups that accept government money. This is a very significant advance in religious liberty and carries the promise of new opportunities for faith-based organizations to serve as allies with government. For introductory material on Charitable Choice that can be printed as handouts, go to Charitable Choice Handouts .
Many programs still have very restrictive rules.
Charitable Choice levels the playing field so that faith-based organizations have an opportunity to compete for government funding. It does not create a separate source of funding designated for religious programs. Rather, for those funds that are now governed by the new Charitable Choice rules, faith-based organizations have the right to compete against all other organizations to provide any of the services that government is seeking. Where Charitable Choice applies, it opens the door wide for competition. It does not create a right for faith-based programs to get government funds.