ZANESVILLE, Ohio ? With an eye toward courting evangelical voters, Senator Barack Obama presented a plan here on Tuesday to expand on President Bush?s program of investing federal money in religious-based initiatives that are intended to fight poverty and perform community aid work.
AA Press Release:AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC.http://www.atheists.orghttp://www.americanatheist.orgFor more information, please contact:Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333 Frank Zindler, Acting President (614) 299-1036ATHEIST CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP BLASTS OBAMA SUPPORT FOR BUSH FAITH-BASED SCHEME An Atheist organization which defends civil rights and the separation of church and state today criticized Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama for his support of the Bush faith-based initiatives. Obama pledged to expand the federal funding scheme, which under Mr. Bush has given over $1.2 billion in taxpayer money to churches, mosques, temples and other religious groups to operate “faith-based” social programs. Frank Zindler, Acting President of American Atheists, said that Obama was “horse trading the constitutional separation of government and religion for votes.” “This makes it official — the Democrats are trying to outdo their Republican colleagues in using religion and the lure of more taxpayer money to turn houses of worship into voting blocks,” said Zindler. “Obama wants to continue the discriminatory policy of taxing millions of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other Americans who profess no religious beliefs, and give that money to organized religion. That’s unfair, that’s discriminatory, and it endangers our First Amendment freedom.” Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said that the Obama pledge to continue Bush’s programs is a risky economic and social experiment. “The faith-based initiative allows religious groups to use our money in programs that are poorly monitored, have little or no accountability, and drain resources for their more effective secular counterparts,” said Silverman. “This is pandering to religious groups, and offers the lure of free government cash in exchange for political support.”AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
Obama seems to be abandoning his natural constituency by pandering to those who will only vote Republican anyway. Gore tried the something similar in 2000 when he said he hated atheists. The result was 8 years of George W. Bush.
Jim
Gore said he hated atheists? I hadn’t heard that.
Karen,
I thought that he said hate, but I can’t find where. I did find where he accused us of arrogance:
http://www.americanatheist.org/columns/ontar12-7-99.html
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/features/1999/still1.html
He also promoted his religious outlook whenever he could:
query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E4D81631F930A15753C1A9669C8B63
He earlier claimed to be for state/church separation, and perhaps he was/is. But accusations of arrogance sent mixed signals.
Thanks, Jim
I hadn’t heard the “arrogant” reference, either, so your links were enlightening. The 3rd one, I’m not sure which article you meant, because it took me to a blank NYTimes page and I just did a search for Al Gore articles. I saw one where he proposed a full religious-based initiative in 1999.
Karen,
It’s an October 23, 2000 New York Times article by Kevin Sack titled:
THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE VICE PRESIDENT; In a Texas Church, Gore Campaigns for Morality, Values and ‘Prosperity of the Spirit’
The Atheist Papers, Essays & Letters: Thoughtful Activist Opposition to Religion:
http://home.comcast. net/~chris.morton/site/?/home/
This is part of an answer to an email response from the Obama camp responding to a letter I wrote to them to question them (in part) about their White House
Faith-based program promise to religious groups. I believe that Obama is all set to infringe the wall of separation with this program, should he be elected.
We must stop this now, before he is able to claim executive privilege. He must be carefully watched for encouraging churches to preach his support from their pulpits, therefore encouraging them to breach their 501(c)3 status as required by the IRS. If they follow his lead and do this they should be reported to the IRS with a written request for an investigation into their 501(c)3 tax exempt status. I believe that churches should all have their tax-exempt status revoked by law as in France.
Just in case you think this is a political ploy to negate Obama against McCain, it is not; I am a lifelong Democrat who is quite sure that McCain is entering
senility, (if he thinks his foreign policy should include Yugoslavia and Chechoslovakia, he is in the wrong century. He also says that he can win the war in Iraq, and he isn’t able to distinguish between the Sunni and Shia Muslim factions that are fighting against each other and will continue to do so long after we have left.) McCain also supports the expansion and continuation of a religious war apart from the Sunni/Shia confrontation as articulated by Bush: a war of Christians against Islam and vice versa.
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.” James Madison.
This is my response (in part) to an email from the Obama camp trying to explain why their Faith-based funding provision will not be like Bush’s and will not be
a breach of the separation clause:
“We already provide churches with a clear opportunity to collect and retain funds for programs that they choose to create: we provide them with a completely
tax-free environment. In effect our taxes, which must meet this loss of tax income from the churches, (and in many cases this is millions and millions of dollars – just look at the money that is sent to the Vatican by the Catholic Church and their huge network of hospitals, support centers and schools for which their tax-exempt status pays) pay already for their charitable programs.
“In fact the groups you are discriminating against are the many secular programs because many of them do not get a special tax-free option. Perhaps you should
talk about providing funding for them and get out of the business of kissing religious groups’ bums to get their congregants to vote for the senator. In fact, by meeting with these religious groups and offering them incentives to vote for him, the Senator could be said to be bribing them, but he is also encouraging church leaders to support him from their pulpits and this is against the laws governing the IRS provision of 501(c)3 status, which, if you don’t know what this is, is their tax exempt status.”
By the way, you are more likely to get a response from the Obama camp by writing to them or copying and email to them by snail mail. They don’t read email and you simply get an automated response.
“Ecrasez l’infame!” Voltaire.
Chris Morton
8444 Grand Messina Circle
Boynton Beach, FL 33437
561-685-8057
chris.morton@comcast. net
Copy the following statement and put it on every blog of which you are a member, and every email you send – get all atheists to show themselves to help each other:
[I do not hide my atheism, but flaunt it. Atheists! come out of your closets and join us in the struggle against the empty superstition of belief.]