Civitas Forum 9/28-29 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Policy Guy   
Wednesday, 12 September 2007 06:35
Can church and state interact in ways that respect the constitution and human freedom, and serve human needs as well? The Civitas Forum on Charitable Choice will address these questions during a conference to be held on September 28 and 29 at the University of Minnesota.

The thought of church/state cooperation brings me both cheer and dread.

Here's something from the front page of the conference announcement:
In the last decade, citizens and public policy experts have witnessed increasing acceptance of the idea of closer collaboration between government and faith-based and community organizations to deliver a wide range of public services.
I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, the idea that church and state should work together is frightening. There are many reasons for that, but I'll give just two. Religiously-themed talk is often the preface to unwise policies. Remember when "Blessed are the peacemakers" was followed by an admonition for the U.S. to disarm itself vis-a-vis the Soviet Union? "Are we not our brother's keeper," meanwhile, often prefaces a call for higher tax rates and a bigger role for government. In addition, "collaboration" can threaten religious groups: politicians are well-practiced at co-opting people of faith for their political agendas.

But the story doesn't end with pessimism. In a traditional vision of conservatism (say, the ideas of Edmund Burke), a free society cannot exist without a strong religious component.

So, we might ask, can religious groups do their work, in contact with government officials, to the benefit of all?

There are benefits, social utility and increased freedom when we recognize that religious institutions can do things in which government has little if any competence. Sometimes, though, they need some cooperation from civil authorities to do the work. An obvious example is mentoring individuals still in prison, otherwise known as "rehabilitation." The government's efforts have less than stellar results. But religious training programs such as Prison Fellowship's InnerChange Freedom Initiative show promise (and some evidence) of reducing recidivism. Not coincidentally, former Gov. Al Quie will be speaking on the Initiative in one of the workshops.

Registration for all events (Friday evening, and Saturday until 6 p.m.) costs $75, though you can register for a limited number of workshops as well. The event is sponsored by several groups, including the Center of the American Experiment.