Bipartisan support for faith-based initiative

The latest Capital Commentary, dated 4 October, is written by the Center for Public Justice's Stephen Lazarus, who was at last weekend's consultation in Baltimore: "The Everlasting Faith-Based Initiative." Senator John F. Kerry has now endorsed the concept, giving it the support of both US presidential candidates. Writes Lazarus:

Kerry's endorsement of faith-based initiatives exposes the misinformation and myths of critics who say equal treatment for faith-based organizations is only a passing fad, or the pet policy of a Republican administration, or a crass attempt to expand or reward a party's political base. At bottom, the faith-based initiative is not the private property of any one political party. Rather, the movement for equal treatment of all faiths in public life exists because government bears inescapable responsibilities to promote the general welfare of its citizens and to protect their free exercise of religion in public life. These responsibilities outlast each administration and continue to the next. Discharging these duties represents a high calling for both candidates, and we should accept no less.