A U.S. court struck down government funding of a religion-based social service program. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that “unrestricted, direct funding” of FaithWorks, a Christian-based program in Wisconsin that helps fathers with drug treatment and job training, violates the church-state provisions of the First Amendment. The decision is the first federal court decision striking down aid from Washington to religious groups under the “charitable choice” provisions passed as part of the 1996 federal welfare reform law. President Bush visited FaithWorks during his presidential campaign to promote his idea of allowing religious groups to receive direct government aid for their social service programs.
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