The wall of separation divides both ways

In his blog post entitled Uncle Sam's Faith, Samuel Rodriguez, president of the Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, discusses the symbiotic relationship between the government and religious organizations and how both work independently towards similar goals of service. He writes in response to the question as to whether or not the Obama Administration should be able to approve who churches and religious organizations hire.

Rodriguez holds that the government should have no say over who religious organizations hire to manage funds granted to them. He ascribes this policy to the same merit as the federal approval of sermons for a religious service. Some suggest that approval of hires is necessary to insure that federal money does not promote a particular religious belief over another, or at all. However, these organizations receive funding in order to act effectively where the government often cannot--work enabling "community empowerment and renewal."

In the context of both secular and non-secular entities, there remains an obligation to serve the community and to help those in need. Though there is a wall between church and state, both entities seek to provide aid. I found Rodriguez's reference to the relief response to victims of Hurricane Katrina to be an excellent example of an incident where religion stepped in and went further to help people than the government ever could. In such a case, religious organizations and the government worked within the same sphere to provide relief to those afflicted.

Rodriguez says that religious organization should be held to the same standards as the government when it comes to providing services and aid to the community. While the federal government should give grants to all religious organizations seeking to provide aid regardless of who they hire, the organizations receiving these grants should also provide services that benefit the entire community, instead of particular types of people. He defines a difference between personal belief and the mission of outreach, saying that though religious organizations may vary in beliefs, they all should maintain the same goal of promoting goodwill and service to all individuals in their communities.

Because there is so much concern for keeping church and state separate, those who could ultimately benefit the most from this type of aid fall through the divide. I believe that though separation of church and state is necessary, cooperation between secular and non-secular entities can be proactive towards promoting a commonly supported good. Between church and state, there is concern that one party is being secular, while the other is simultaneously worried about being religious--a hardening of the division that limits the potential capabilities of both entities. Especially with the current economic climate, all organizations providing aid should work together to address a problem that is greater than any dogma--religious or political.