The Freedom From Religion Foundation has stopped an Ohio county’s attempt to divert public dollars into exclusively religious organizations.

Earlier this month, it was brought to FFRF’s attention that Cuyahoga County had issued a “request for proposal” so that it could offer outreach services limited to faith-based organizations or coalitions of faith-based organizations. The request was intended to seek “proposals from faith-based organizations interested in providing outreach and referral activities to drive enrollment in Cuyahoga County’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program.”

The single explanation for why the request was limited to spiritual organizations was a blatant government show of favoritism toward religion: “Faith-based organizations hold a special place in the community as a known and trusted resource.” Faith-based organizations are defined in the request as “currently designated tax-exempt churches, synagogues, mosques, temples or other religious organizations under the authority of the IRS as outlined in IRS code section 501(c)3.”

In a letter to the county administration, FFRF warned against such an explicit violation of the Supreme Court’s recognition of the First Amendment’s mandate that the government must remain neutral between religions and between religion and nonreligion.

“While the county’s goal of introducing more children to its high-quality preschool program is laudable, it is inappropriate for the county to offer an opportunity for public funding exclusively to religious organizations,” wrote FFRF Legal Fellow Chris Line. “A county-sponsored program available only to religious organizations fails to respect either constitutional mandate of neutrality.”

In a commendable display of reason, the county responded that it would comply with constitutional requirements to be entirely neutral on matters of religion.

The Director of Law for the county, Robert Triozzi, called to inform FFRF that the “request for proposal” has been withdrawn due to the constitutional issues that were raised and will be reissued without a faith-based requirement.

FFRF salutes Cuyahoga County for altering the biased proposal and making the community a more inclusive place for nonbelievers, who make up almost one-quarter of Americans.

“Religion is divisive, and it is commendable that county officials have recognized that the whole community benefits when it is expunged from a public proposal,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Now all county taxpayers might benefit from the proposed outreach services, which is wonderful news.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit with more than 29,000 members nationwide, including more than 700 members in Ohio and a local chapter in Cleveland. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

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