Interfaith Delegation: Inadequate Government Response Post-Katrina Left Religious Community "Holding an Empty Bag"
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 12/29/2005
A new report by The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) criticizes the slow response of government officials to the devastation of the Gulf Coast, while praising religious leaders and their congregations who have shouldered the costs of Katrina relief efforts.The report, Day 56: A Report From The Interfaith Alliance's Post Katrina Baton Rouge Listening Tour, documents the results of meetings with Baton Rouge evacuees of Hurricane Katrina and a visit to local churches, including Shiloh Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, LA.
"This report carries the substance and spirit of voices which I, and other religious leaders on the trip, have heard. Thus, I share this with gnawing disappointment, profound sadness and a whole lot of anger, yet with high expectations about what still can be worship at North Minster Baptist Church in Monroe, LA.
The report notes that the population of Baton Rouge has doubled since Hurricane Katrina, making it Louisiana's largest city. Nearly 8,000 to 10,000 displaced residents are living in shelters, according to CNN.
After governmental response to Katrina failed to materialize, Shiloh opened a shelter that has housed more than 75 individuals and raised $200,000 in donations.
Watching television news reports of the hurricane's impact on New Orleans sparked the idea of converting Shiloh into a shelter, according to Eula Smith, wife of Rev. Charles Smith, Shiloh's pastor. "But we didn't want to displace our people either. We had a school going on. We have a pre-K and a day care center and a nursery. We have all these programs going on. Well, we wanted to keep all that. So I met with the head janitor and said, come on let's go back here and study this layout and get this together," Smith said.
The TIA report criticizes the Bush administration for its failure to provide relief in a timely manner. According to the report, on Day 56 since the hurricane, the city of Baton Rouge "had not received one penny" of federal money.
"From what we saw and heard, the local religious community of Baton Rouge is stretched beyond its breaking point, both financially and spiritually," the report said.
While acknowledging the important role of both the federal government and religious groups in times of crisis, the report was clear that channeling government money to houses of worship was "the wrong way to do a good thing," asserting that "religion itself, as well as religious institutions, can be hurt beyond measure by a reception of government funding that opens the door to government intrusion."
The report reiterated its objections to the administration's faith-based initiative, calling it an arrangement that was "bad for religion, bad for government, and threatening to those to whom it would offer assistance."
Instead, the report called for "a partnership between religious institutions and private philanthropy that draws upon their collective resources and protects the integrity of all."
Additional recommendations include providing tax incentives for charitable giving; tax relief for the poor; and a commitment to, and funding for, public education.
Whether in times of crisis or in normal times, a faith-based office in the White House is unnecessary, the report concludes: "We have faith-based offices all over this nation and they are where they belong - in synagogues and gurdwaras, in mosques and churches, in temples and store front ministry centers."
