Faith-based Folly: Bush, bigotry and our tax dollars. (Editorial).

Late in 2001, a man named Alan Yorker applied for a job at the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, Ga., a facility that provides services for youngsters in foster care. The home receives 40 percent of its budget from Georgia taxpayers.

A well-regarded psychotherapist, Yorker was exceptionally qualified for the position. But when he came in for an interview, staff at the home seemed more interested in Yorker's religion than his degrees. He was required to list his faith on the application form, and as soon as officials there saw the word "Jewish," they showed Yorker the door.

The directors of the facility were blunt: No Jews would be hired. In fact, one staffer later admitted that any resumes from applicants with "Jewish sounding" last names were tossed in the trash.

Religious groups certainly have the right to employ staff who share their faith tenets, but rank discrimination using public funds is repugnant to all fair-minded Americans. Yet if President George W. Bush has his way, we're going to be seeing a lot more of it in the future.

On Dec. 12, Bush issued a series of executive orders and policies requiring agencies of the federal government to contract with churches and other religious groups to provide social services--even if those "faith-based" groups discriminate on the basis of religion.

Frustrated by his inability to get Congress to pass his "faith-based" initiative, Bush decided to implement key provisions of it by executive flat. In doing so, he assailed not only the wall of separation between church and state but civil rights laws as well.

More than 60 years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order requiring federal defense contractors to cease discrimination in hiring. Coming as it did years before the civil rights movement, Roosevelt's action showed considerable political courage and foresight. It was a gutsy move, and the nation was made a better place because of it. Since then, other presidents have expanded on FDR's wise policy.

With one swift move, Bush has started unraveling these federal nondiscrimination rules and undermined the church-state wall at the same time.

It has become apparent that this administration simply has no respect for the separation of church and state. What's especially exasperating is that Bush and his political schemers continue to pretend that they respect the church-state wall--all the while laboring to bring it down.

The day of the Bush salvo, James Towey, who heads the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, told the Boston Globe that Bush supports church-state separation. At the same time, Towey had the temerity to call Americans United an "extremist" group.

How does the administration intend to protect separation of church and state while funneling billions in taxpayer dollars to houses of worship and other sectarian institutions? The president's executive order contains some pro forma language stating that tax funds cannot be used to pay for proselytization or worship. That's it.

Indications are that this mere verbiage will never be enforced. From the day he first introduced the faith-based initiative, Bush has talked incessantly about the power of religious groups to change people's lives. Bush believes that social ills like homelessness, drug addiction, teen pregnancy and others can best be solved through religious conversion. Once a person finds God, he or she will straighten up and fly right.

This is an alarming proposition. Religious conversion should not be the centerpiece of American governmental policy, and it should never be funded with tax money.

Bush may believe he is helping religion. He's not. In every nation where religion and state are conjoined, the result is disaster. Individuals are forced to comply with religious tenets they don't believe in, and taxpayers are forced to subsidize religious institutions they would never support voluntarily.

It's also bad for the faith communities. Houses of worship are certain to get too accustomed to supping at the federal trough. Too late they'll realize they can't survive without a taxpayer subsidy.

Are such churches likely to ever stand up and prophetically rebuke the state--thus biting the hand that feeds them? What happens when a crunch comes and the funds are reduced or cut off?. What happens when a future administration decides to issue different executive orders adding a few strings to the receipt of tax aid?

With this latest attack on the church-state wall, the Bush administration has put us all on notice: No American principle, no matter how revered, useful and time-tested, can expect safe harbor from politicians and their Religious Right allies who are bound and determined to merge religion and government.

It's time to stand up and resist further assaults on the church-state wall. Call the White House comment line (202-456-1111) and express your disapproval. Write your U.S. senators and member of the House. Send a letter to your local newspaper. Educate your friends and neighbors. Support Americans United and help us prepare for legal challenges.

The legacy of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison is under assault. We must defend it with all of our energy. America's tradition of religious liberty deserves nothing less.