Ethics

Establishment Clause Problems at USAID

By Ed Brayton

A new report (PDF) put out by the Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development concludes that some items funded by the agency may trigger church/state problems. The Washington Post reports on some of those issues:

The U.S. Agency for International Development funded programs that rebuilt Iraqi mosques and used biblical lessons to promote sexual abstinence in Africa, despite a prohibition on the use of taxpayer funds to support "inherently religious activities," according to a new audit by the agency's inspector general.

USAID challenged the inspector general's findings in a written response, saying that the main goals of its programs in Africa and Iraq were secular in nature. The report focused on projects initiated from 2006 to 2007 under the Bush administration.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on July 28, 2009 (boomark / email).