What are the rules on funding religious activity with Federal money?
The United States Supreme Court has said that direct government assistance may not be used to support “inherently religious” activities. This means a faith-based organization may not use any direct Federal assistance to fund worship, religious instruction or proselytization. Instead, organizations may use government money only to support the non-religious social services that they provide. This does not mean the organization may not have religious activities; it simply means an organization may not use taxpayer dollars to fund inherently religious activities. If an organization receives direct government funds from USDA, any inherently religious activities must be privately funded, separate from the government-funded services, and voluntary. Therefore, faith-based organizations that receive direct governmental funds should take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the government-funded services that they offer. Additionally, although an org
The U.S. Supreme Court has said that direct government assistance may not be used to support “inherently religious” activities. This means a faith-based organization may not use any direct Federal assistance to fund worship, religious instruction or proselytization. Instead, organizations may use government money only to support the non-religious social services that they provide. This does not mean the organization may not have religious activities; it simply means an organization may not use taxpayer dollars to fund inherently religious activities. If an organization receives direct government funds from USDA, any inherently religious activities must be privately funded, separate from the government-funded services and voluntary. Therefore, faith-based organizations that receive direct governmental funds should take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the government-funded services they offer. Additionally, although an organization may i
The United States Supreme Court has said that faith-based organizations may not use direct government support to support inherently religious activities. Don t be put off by the term inherently religious it s simply a phrase that has been used by the courts in church-state cases. Basically, it means you can not use any part of a direct Federal grant to fund religious worship, instruction, or proselytization. Instead, organizations may use government money only to support the non-religious social services that they provide. Therefore, faith-based organizations that receive direct governmental funds should take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the government-funded services that they offer. Such organizations should also carefully account for their use of all government money. This does not mean your organization can t have religious activities. It simply means you can t use taxpayer dollars to fund them. Some faith-based organizations se
