Alert from CPJ USA: Contact your Congressman & Senators!

Citizen Action Alert

February 24, 2005


Congress to Debate Religious Freedom Protections

Urge the House of Representatives to Defeat Amendments to Strip Away
Important Religious Freedoms of Community-Serving Organizations


WHY THIS ISSUE IS IMPORTANT:

If passed, The Job Training Improvement Act (H.R. 27) will permit faith-based organizations to consider an employee's religion when hiring staff to run a government-supported job training program. Preserving the independence and mission of faith-based organizations that accept government funds is a top priority of the President’s Faith-based and Community Initiative. Religious organizations need the protection included in this bill to hire staff who are fully committed to their religious mission and vision and also to protect them from unjustified lawsuits. This vote will set an important precedent for future bills affecting the religious freedom of faith-based organizations.

Opponents of this freedom seek to remove it from the bill during the House debate on H.R. 27 beginning the week of Feb. 28.  Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and others will offer one or more amendments to strip away this religious freedom. They argue that it is morally repugnant for a faith-based organization to be concerned about the religious commitments of its employees and that the government must not permit such "discrimination" when it controls the purse strings.  They insist that Congress knows better than any faith-based organization when faith is or is not important for job qualifications and for building an effective staff. However, for many faith-based organizations, a person's religious worldview is not irrelevant to the delivery of social services.  An organization's concern to hire like-minded staff members is not rank bigotry, but is understandable and justified and has been widely recognized for years in other laws.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, setting the basic federal employment civil rights standards, explicitly honors the freedom of faith-based organizations to staff on a  religious basis. This freedom was upheld by a unanimous Supreme Court decision in 1987 (AMOS V. CORPORATION OF PRESIDING BISHOPS).  If Congress expects broad involvement by community-serving, faith-based organizations, the federal job training program should respect this important civil right.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE’S OFFICE THIS WEEK:

You may reach your Representative by calling the Capitol switchboard (toll-free) at 877-762-8762. When you give your zip code, the operator will connect you with your representative.

Click here for additional contact information for your Representative.  
URL: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

Let your Representative know you believe faith-based organizations should be free to take religion into account when hiring staff. When speaking with your Representative's staff, you may leave this message:

"As your constituent, I urge you to protect the religious staffing freedoms of faith-based organizations and vote to reject the Scott amendment and any other amendment that would deny faith-based organizations the full protections they deserve under law when they partner with government as independent, community serving organizations and not arms of the state."

Thank you for your activism!

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:
Share this action alert with friends and with leaders of faith-based organizations you know. Support the Center for Public Justice  
URL: http://www.cpjustice.org/opportunities/membership

Sign up for an E-Newsletter from the Coalition to Preserve Religious Freedom, an advocacy initiative of the Center for Public Justice, to keep up with these and other crucial issues.  To subscribe send an email to Stephen Lazarus at stephenNO@SPAMcpjustice.org. [Remember to remove caps] 


Background and Additional Resources:

THE FREEDOM OF FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS
TO STAFF ON A RELIGIOUS BASIS, a new book
published by Center for Public Justice, downloadable at:
URL: http://www.cpjustice.org/stories/storyReader$1234

"Ten Affirmations on Religious Staffing"
URL: http://www.cpjustice.org/charitablechoice/  (scroll down to middle of page)
 
"Isn't Charitable Choice Government-Funded Discrimination"
URL: http://www.cpjustice.org/stories/storyreader$375

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For further information, contact:
Stephen Lazarus, Senior Policy Associate,
Center for Public Justice,
stephenNO@SPAMcpjustice.org [Remember to remove caps]
866-CPJUSTICE (275-8784) (toll-free).

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The Center for Public Justice
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Annapolis, MD 21401
        
Toll Free: 1-866-CPJUSTICE (1-866-275-8784)
Local: 410-571-6300
Fax: 410-571-6365
inquiriesNO@SPAMcpjustice.org [Remember to remove caps]

URL: http://www.cpjustice.org

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