From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG US Senate Charitable Choice Church/State letter Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 00:14:56 -0400 (EDT) Note: an identical letter was sent to Senator Specter and will probably be sent to senators in New Jersey and Delaware as well. September 20, 1998 The Honorable Rick Santorum United States Senate 120 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Santorum: We oppose charitable choice in the Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) (S. 2206). We strongly support both the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment. We do not believe it is appropriate to give public money to an institution without oversight, nor do we believe that oversight of religious institutions is appropriate. No group using government money should be able to engage in discriminatory hiring practices; if there is one place where job discrimination should absolutely not be tolerated it is in projects funded with money from taxpayers of all religions, races, family structures, genders, and sexual orientations. We do not believe it is appropriate for the government to be funding religious indoctrination, or for the government to require people to undergo religious indoctrination in order to receive basic government services. Yours in faith, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.