Study finds few Black churches get faith based funding

[Toto]

Few Black Churches get Funds (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801121.html)

Black churches in the Northeast and those with self-identified progressive congregations and liberal theologies were most likely to be taking part in the program, a finding that surprised the researchers, who concluded that the White House has not used the program as a political tool as some critics have suspected.

"Those people who were most worried can exhale," said Robert M. Franklin, a professor of social ethics at Emory University who worked as a consultant on the survey. "Churches have not been manipulated by Karl Rove. They have not sold out."

[Padre Bear]

The report may be distorted by including groups previously working within federal guidelines of separation as now receiving funds under faith-based initiatives. Ex. Lutheran Social Services has worked in this field for decades meeting all EO requirements and as a blind service provider for years. Without a detailed accounting of the research I would be sceptical of the report and the distrbution of Faith-based Initiative funds.

Michelle Goldberg reports extensively on faith-based initiatives in one chapter of Kingdom Coming. I believe distribution in 2003 was something like 1600 Christian groups (not broken down) 50 Jewish groups, 5 Islamic, and 1 Buddhist.