Which is why the national response to President Bush's policy of moving more government money through faith-based charities has been, and should be, slow to catch fire.
With government money rightly comes government limitations, and paperwork and oversight, to ensure that those limitations are observed. For religious organizations already geared up to provide social services with their own money, such as Utah's predominant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it would be an unproductive headache. For those that aren't big in the charity business, it would be scant incentive to begin.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., though, has made some supportive noises toward an idea to create a Utah Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. Such an office would match religiously based social service activities with the increased amount of federal money that has been made available for such groups to help the poor.
Of course Huntsman is reluctant to leave any possible source of revenue on the table. But the last thing Utah needs is a reputation, deserved or not, for using taxpayers' money to promote religion.
We must particularly avoid any use of public funds to press any particular religion upon people who are the most vulnerable and who might, even if the message is unintentionally sent, infer that allegiance to a particular faith is the price of admission to needed housing, food, training or treatment programs.
Some religious organizations are able to discharge their holy duty of feeding the hungry, healing the sick and clothing the naked without simultaneously promoting their own religious beliefs.
Other people of faith, though, consider it irresponsible to answer a needy person's material wants without also trying to fill the place in their soul that lacks, at least to the giver's understanding, a knowledge of the true God.
People who feel that way should pursue their passion, but without either the blessing or the curse of government money cluttering everything up.
