The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "separation of church and state" ...
-
Exporting Faith
The Boston Globe used "a complete raw database of all USAID awards (prime contracts, grants and agreements) obligated from FY 2001 to FY 2005" to investigate the results of President Bush's Executive Orders that "created the faith based initiative and relaxed federal regulations for religious groups using government funds that once sought to protect church-state separations." The series shows that the percentage of USAID awards going to ngo faith based organizations in 2005 was almost doubled the percentage in 2001, from 10.5% to 19.9%. This creates the potential for problems where aid recipients "might forgo assistance because they don't share in the religion of the provider."
Tags: separation of church and state; faith-based initiatives; foreign aid; executive orders; church-state ties; White House Office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives; President Bush; USAID; NGO; Christian evangelicals; Kenya; Angola; Pakistan; Focus on the Family; James Dobb; FOIA; UNICEF; UNDP; State Department; Samaritan's Purse; National Association of Evangelicals; Americans United for Separation of the Church and State; Global Health Outreach; Offfice of Volunteers for Prosperity; Youth for Christ; World Vision; Yellowbook;
-
Outsourcing Justice? That's Obscene
"The Bush administration has contracted with a Christian right organization, Morality in Media, to receive citizens' complaints about online obscenity. Since the early 1960s, Morality in Media has opposed pornography of all types, including constitutionally protected material. The Justice Department, duty-bound to uphold the Constitution, is thus allying itself with an organization that holds much of today's First Amendment law in contempt."
Tags: justice; freedom of speech; obscenity; religion; separation of church and state; internet
-
Canada vs. Vatican
Le Point magazine compares the Catholic Church's official doctrine re: homosexuality and gay marriage to the realities of sexual abuse by Canadian priests, finding a blatant conflict between the Vatican's condemnation of gay marriage and its long-standing toleration of priests' child abuse. The article is in French, but the Resource Center has provided a basic translation in English.
Tags: separation of church and state; discrimination; civil rights; Catholic Church; Vatican; the Pope; child abuse; child pornography
-
"Polygamy in Arizona"; "Bound by Fear: Polygamy in Arizona,"
A fundamentalist Mormon Church in Arizona has erected a separate society in which polygamy is openly encouraged and enforced, in violation of the Constitution of Arizona and Utah. The church, whose members own most, if not all of the property in town, is also able to tap into the state's welfare system in order to support their large families. In many cases, the brides are underage and are stripped of all civil rights and forced to marry. All property and jobs are all controlled by one "prophet," as well as the self-erected political system of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints.
Tags: polygamy; Mormon Church; fundamentalism; Arizona; Utah; Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints.
-
Faith, Hope and Charity
President Bush's controversial backing of non-secular social services through his newly-created White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives roused objections from many political camps. In Texas, the former governor pushed for a way to divert more federal funds to religious (or "faith-based") groups that provided social services. But the effort was hardly widespread: Only $8.4 million went to religious groups, compared to the $1 billion spent on social services in Texas in 2001. The debate surrounding charitable choice may well be one of semantics and political emphasis rather than true action as laws already exist that permit faith-based groups to be eligible for federal funds for social service work.
Tags: charity; religion; social services; faith; 501c 3; nonprofit; private sector; churches; separation of church and state; Salvation Army; Catholic Charities; welfare; effectiveness; social work and psychology replaced with faith; volunteerism; federal funds
-
Christian 'PAC' blurs church-state separation
This pre-election story examines "whether involvement by area churches in local political races potentially violated rules governing tax-exempt organizations." The reporter details the activity of "a political committee largely staffed by area clergy, who have litmus tests on politico-religious views" and have publicly endorsed local candidates. The story reveals that the church group - called Community Impact Committee - has been formed "in an apparent effort to get around the constitutional wall that separates church from state."
Tags: churches; tax-exempt; elections; voters; clergy; federal law
-
No title (id: 13215)
Bob Smith saved an abandoned inner-city high school. Dropout rates fell, grades improved, more kids moved on to college-and then came the inquisition. The American Spectator investigates how the state of Wisconsin first encouraged principal Smith to apply for his school, Messmer High School, to participate in Milwaukee's school voucher system and then revoked the school's eligibility claiming the Messmer High School was a Catholic, religiously-affiliated school. (March 1996)
Tags: McGroarty Education Parent Choice Religion Separation of church and state 5 pgs.
-
How Your Tax Dollars Support the Boy Scouts of America
The Humanist magazine reports that "The Boy Scouts of America has come under increasing fire for its rejection of atheists and gays and is currently in court defending itself several discrimination lawsuits. In its legal briefs, it presents itself as a private group with an essentially religious basis that is exempt for discrimination laws...."
Tags: nonprofit religious discrimination separation of church and state BSA subsidy conflict of interest