A Look at the State Republican Platforms: Getting America back on track with faith-based programs.

church and state

A number of Republican parties want faith-based programs to take an increasing role in public services. For example, Iowa Republicans state in Paragraph 20.1 of their platform that they "support faith-based, non-government organizations (NGOs), providing individuals more efficient and effective access to social services."

The Minnesota Republican platform calls for the reform and elimination of the welfare system, and lays the burden of public assistance on private charity and faith-based programs:

People in need should be assisted primarily through private charity, including faith-based programs instead of government welfare programs. These programs should be encouraged through tax credits at the federal and state levels with the objective of replacing as much government-sponsored welfare with private incentives as possible. We believe in real welfare reform, which would require all able-bodied recipients to work in order to receive benefits, stop the practice of offering cash incentives for unmarried recipients to bear children, and require proof of legal citizenship and in-state residency and mandatory drug tests as a condition of receiving aid.

Mississippi Republicans, in their "Public Safety" portion of the draft platform, "support the development of more church and community-based rehabilitation programs for non-violent offenders. We support the utilization of drug courts to ensure participants pay for their crimes while providing an opportunity to return addicts to better functioning, family-oriented, taxpaying members of society rather than a draining burden on the prison system.

In their 2011 platform, Oklahoma Republicans specify the Christian faith in connection with criminal form:

6. We support programs including faith-based organizations that promote traditional marriage, marriage enrichment, abstinence education, and encourage responsible parenting.

7. We call for individuals, families, churches, and private organizations to take responsibility in meeting the needs of the citizens of the community.

A. Crime and Punishment

1. We believe that the final solution to all crime is a change of heart and support the utilization of Christian faith-based and privately-financed programs to reduce recidivism and for the treatment of drug offenders as an alternative to prison.

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D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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  • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

    I've seen how their drug courts [do not] work. It does nothing but keep drug addicts in the system, causing them to stay in a perpetual cycle, instead of giving them REAL help- much like their idea of [pseudo] education that keeps people perpetually ignorant.

    • Deborah_B

      I wonder how much money these Christian rehab groups receive from the state, and what the actual costs of public vs. religious services are in terms of money and outcome. I have major concerns about handing over public services to religious groups, but in terms of drug rehab, it's unclear to me from these platforms whether or not inmates will have a choice between religious and secular services.

      • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

        In some areas they don't have much of a choice. They are not technically on paper they are not forced to go to religious services, but in reality they are pressured to listen to religious crap and even pressured to attend services.

  • Rob S

    Wow! Mississippi, eh? Isn't that the same State that welcomed Civil Rights with open arms? Yeah… I thought it was.

  • Ephraim7

    We need to get the teaching /brainwashing of Atheism out of public schools. The school system "takes sides" by only offering the (false) conclusions of science about the history of life forms on Earth. The correct opposing view to evolution, is the "Observations of Moses", which every state school board and legislature has refused to examine.

    The correct rendition of Genesis chapter one has been known for more than 18 years, but the Clergy, academia, state governments, and US Dept of Education avoid the truth by never allowing the public, students, and congregations to see the presentation.

    Also, the news media turns a blind eye to this. They have been requested to view the 65 minute presentation, which proves both Creationism and evolution to be in error, but they don't respond. TV news, radio news, and newspaper editors and reporters across the nation have been contacted (for 12 years or more), and they NEVER agree to look at it. They want to keep feeding the public false information about Genesis.

    Even the Sanhedrin in Israel was shocked by the presentation. They didn't think that literal interpretation of Genesis and scientific reality could be reconciled. I had asked them to either embrace it as the truth of scripture, or expose it as heresy. They chose not to publically embrace it because it would prove that the writers of the Talmud and Torah were ignorant of the Genesis text. So they ignored it.

    Herman Cummings
    ephraim7@aol.com