Bush Reaffirms Separation of Church And State
By Patricia Wilson
February 1, 2001, WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush vowed
at a national prayer breakfast on Thursday to end discrimination against
religious institutions and reassured Americans he would not try to impose
his own faith on them. Cartoon here Photo here
Bush, speaking about religion for the fourth day in a row, used the
annual event to address concerns about his initiative allowing faith-based
organizations to gain access to federal dollars to help pay for their solutions
to social ills.
He also revisited his campaign themes of returning civility to politics
and changing the tone in Washington, urging that public debate ``be free
from bitterness and anger and rancor and ill will.''
Like every one of his predecessors since Dwight Eisenhower, Bush dwelt
on the breakfast's 49-year-old tradition of bringing together members of
Congress, foreign dignitaries, Cabinet members and judges to share in the
spirit of unity regardless of their religious views.
``Our country from its beginning has recognized the contribution of
faith,'' he told more than 1,000 guests gathered in the cavernous ballroom
of a downtown hotel.
``We do not impose any religion. We welcome all religions. We do not
proscribe any prayer. We welcome all prayer. This is the tradition of our
nation. And it will be the standard of my administration,'' he said.
Pointing out that the Constitution forbids a religious test for office,
Bush added: ``And that's the way it should be. An American president serves
people of every faith, and serves some with no faith at all.''
``Armies Of Compassion''
He said his administration would put the federal government ''squarely
on the side of America's armies of compassion'' and drew a standing ovation
when he added: ``The days of discriminating against religious institutions
simply because they are religious must come to an end.''
But Bush also insisted his faith-based plan to give religious groups
a greater role in curing social problems like homelessness, alcoholism
and drug addiction by letting them compete for government grants, would
not cross the constitutional boundary separating church and state.
``Our plan will not favor religious institutions over nonreligious
institutions. As president, I'm interested in what is constitutional and
I'm interested in what works,'' he said.
Bush, a Methodist who turned to religion and then gave up drinking
almost 15 years ago, says he reads the Bible every day. He told the prayer
breakfast his faith personally helped him ``in the service to people.''
``It has sustained me in moments of success and in moments of disappointment,''
he said. ``Without it, I'd be a different person. And without it, I doubt
I'd be here today.''
A believer in the power of faith to change lives because he feels it
has changed his own, Bush has brought a new religious focus to the White
House, raising the hackles of advocates of a strict constitutional separation
between church and state and triggering a national debate over whether
federal dollars should be used to support faith-based social services.
Foreign Leaders
The prayer breakfast, organized by members of Congress and attended
by a diverse group, also heard from Vice President Dick Cheney (news -
web sites).
``We come together on this day, people of many faiths, to speak with
one voice, humbly asking the creator for a measure of his grace as we carry
out the duties given to us,'' he said.
Among the foreign leaders attending were President Joseph Kabila of
the Democratic Republic of Congo (news - web sites), President Boris Trajkovski
of Macedonia, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Prime Minister Mikulas
Dzurinda of the Slovak Republic.
The foreign ministers of the Bahamas, Montenegro, Romania and Albania
also were present, along with two former Pakistani prime ministers, Benazir
Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Bush did not meet with any of them, leaving immediately after the closing
prayer and song following his brief speech.
Asked why, National Security Council spokeswoman Mary Ellen Countryman
said: ``The president's first meeting with a foreign leader is with (Canadian)
Prime Minister (Jean) Chretien on Monday.''
Links
