PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Nathan Bupp
Phone: (716) 636-4869 x 218
E-mail: nbupp@centerforinquiry.net
Council for Secular Humanism Challenges Florida Faith-Based Grants
May 18, 2007
Contact: Robert Rivas
Phone: (850) 591-1492
E-mail:
Amherst, New York (May 18, 2007)—The Council for Secular Humanism, Inc. (CSH), a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote religious liberty by enforcing the separation between church and state, filed suit today in Leon County Circuit Court challenging contracts between the Florida Department of Corrections and two faith-based organizations, Prisoners of Christ, Inc. and Lamb of God Ministries, Inc. The contracts stipulate that Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries will receive public money for providing faith-based services to individuals with substance-abuse problems. Also joining CSH in the lawsuit are Richard and Elaine Hull, two Tallahassee residents and Florida taxpayers.
The complaint maintains that the contracts with the two faith-based organizations are in direct violation of the “No-Aid” provision of the Florida Constitution, Article I, Section 3, which expressly mandates that no revenue of the statue can be provided “directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.” David Koepsell, executive director of CSH, stated that he was “confident of a successful outcome, provided the Florida courts enforce the clear language of the state constitution.” He pointed out that “there can be no dispute that Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries are sectarian institutions. The Web site for Lamb of God Ministries makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is a religious organization that provides religious services at taxpayer expense.”
CSH had filed a previous lawsuit raising similar issues in 2005. That complaint was subsequently put on hold and later withdrawn, however. According to Ronald A. Lindsay, legal director for CSH, the Council decided that it would not be a good use of resources to pursue that lawsuit while the Florida Supreme Court was considering the case of Bush v. Holmes, a school voucher case, which many legal observers thought might provide a definitive interpretation of the “No-Aid” provision. “As it turned out, Bush v. Holmes was decided on other grounds,” Lindsay explained, “and we decided to refile our complaint, but with significant revisions. We decided it would be better for all the parties if we kept the complaint as simple and straightforward as possible, so we can obtain a clear ruling on the meaning of the ‘No-Aid’ provision. Accordingly, we have focused on a couple of contracts instead of bringing a broad attack on faith-based programs in general.”
Tallahassee attorney Robert Rivas is lead counsel for CSH and the Hulls. He predicts that this will be an important test case and that a decision in this case will directly affect the legality of other faith-based grants in Florida.
