Religious Hiring Protections Under Fire

By staff - Apr 25, 2007 - comment

If you believe faith-based organizations that seek federal grants for early education programs should not be discriminated against and should be ensured their constitutional right to take religion into account when hiring staff, please tell your congressman to support a religious protections amendment to H.R. 1429.

A bill that would reauthorize federal funding for early educational programs will soon be voted on in the House, but hiring protections for faith-based organizations that seek to administer the programs will be excluded unless the legislation is amended.

The Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429), legislation to strengthen early education programs for disadvantaged children, was reported out of the Education and Labor Committee in March, after defeating an amendment offered by Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico to protect faith-based providers from relinquishing their religious identity when administering the Head Start program. In addition to non-discrimination protections for religious organizations seeking Head Start grants, the amendment stated that groups administering Head Start programs would not be required to hire staff who hold opposing religious beliefs or to remove religious art, icons, Scripture, or other symbols. An amendment to H.R. 1429 is necessary to bring Head Start into compliance with Section VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which mandates religious hiring protections.

The House leadership could move H.R. 1429 to the floor for a full vote as early as this week. But unless the bill is amended with a religious freedom amendment, the government could easily discriminate against faith-based providers.

Protecting the uniqueness of faith-based groups has been affirmed over the years by leaders on both sides of the political aisle. Under four different Charitable Choice measures passed by Congress, for example, President Clinton reaffirmed that religious organizations have the right to hire according to their religious beliefs while administering federally-funded social service programs. Unfortunately, many members of Congress are changing course, declaring these and similar religious hiring protections a threat.

The ERLC has advised churches considering using federal funds for social service programs to weigh carefully the potential government intrusion problems that could result and to exercise extreme caution if they decide to proceed. The inability to take religion into consideration in hiring staff is one issue that should cause serious concerns for any church considering this.

If you believe faith-based organizations that seek federal grants for early education programs should not be discriminated against and should be ensured their constitutional right to take religion into account when hiring staff, please tell your congressman to support a religious protections amendment to H.R. 1429.

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