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ADF Supreme Court Victory #33: Atheists Can't Block Funding of White House Faith-Based Conference
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Freedom From Religion Foundation loses chance to force its version of the so-called "separation of church and state"
For decades, secularist organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the ACLU have filed hundreds of lawsuits that seek to censor religion—specifically Christianity—from the public square. They have also filed lawsuits to cut off all government funding for the activities of religious groups, no matter what they are doing and no matter what the context. ADF recently was involved in defending against another such legal attack – this time at the U.S. Supreme Court - in the case Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.
When the Bush White House held a conference that informed both faith-based and secular organizations on an equal footing about federal funding for programs that help the poor—and how they can apply for grants—the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit. They claimed they had legal standing as taxpayers to oppose the funding of the conference.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed with the Foundation, ruling that it could indeed challenge the funding of the conference, and allowed the case to proceed. Had that victory stood, the ACLU and its allies would have gained the opportunity to launch even more legal attacks on faith-based ministries, simply because federal funding is allowed.
So ADF filed a friend-of-the-court brief in January on behalf of We Care America, a faith-based organization with affiliates in 28 states, asking the Supreme Court to enforce federal standing requirements. Generally, the Constitution does not allow taxpayers to challenge federal government actions simply because they pay federal taxes.
By God's grace, the Supreme Court—in a close, 5-4 decision—agreed with arguments made by our attorneys and those of the U.S. government, ruling that the Freedom From Religion Foundation could not challenge the funding of the White House conference. In other words, the atheists who claimed the funding of the conference violated the so-called "separation of church and state" lost.
Please join us in thanking God for this tremendous victory at the U.S. Supreme Court—the 33rd we've played a part in. And thank you for making it possible.
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