Church-State Watchdog Group Says Proposed USAID Changes Will Allow Taxpayer Funding Of Churches, Mos

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/05/au-opposes-taxpayer-funding.html

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the Obama administration to ensure that taxpayer funds are not spent to erect and rehabilitate houses of worship abroad.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Americans United asserts that a rule change proposed by the Obama administration will violate Americans’ religious liberty rights.

Regulations issued under President George W. Bush state that U.S. tax funds may not underwrite the construction of buildings used primarily for worship. Under the proposed new rules, the government could construct any facility, including houses of worship, that might “promote tourism or other related economic activities.”

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, “The government cannot use taxpayer money to build churches, mosques or temples in America, and it shouldn’t be permitted to do it overseas either. Houses of worship should be built and maintained by their members, not the taxpayers.”

More at the link --