While they normally rely on the collection plate to pay for their community outreach efforts, Maryland churches are increasingly turning to state taxpayers for help instead.
Since 1993, 19 religious-affiliated groups have successfully lobbied for $7.5 million in state assistance for building projects, blurring the line that usually separates church and state.
Baptist, Roman Catholic and African Methodist Episcopal groups all received state awards last year. The Islamic Society of Baltimore Inc. was granted $200,000 for its community center in Woodlawn, and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington won $600,000.
This year, at least six church-affiliated groups are seeking state grants totaling $3.5 million in Annapolis, and prospects for most, if not all, appear strong.
Such mingling of sectarian and taxpayer dollars raises concerns among a handful of legislators and advocates for strict separation of government and religion.
Key legislators say church-backed community projects serve a worthy public purpose, especially in financially distressed communities such as Baltimore, where the need for services far outstrips the resources of government.
"While they may be connected with churches, they are really controlled by the community and they serve the community," said Del. Clarence Davis, who is sponsoring legislation to give $450,000 to a United Methodist Church-backed community center in East Baltimore.
"This is the kind of thing that's going to help us save neighborhoods in the city," said Davis, a Baltimore Democrat. "The city doesn't have the money to save these neighborhoods."
Maryland's generosity
National groups that track church-state issues said they were not aware of another state that has been as generous as Maryland in giving to religious-affiliated groups.
For many years, Maryland has given state assistance to many of its private colleges, including religious institutions such as Loyola College. The state has also helped fund building projects at religious-affiliated hospitals.
Only in recent years, though, has the General Assembly begun approving direct grants to community groups affiliated with churches.
Last year, for example, the legislature approved $500,000 for Payne Memorial Outreach Inc., the service arm of Payne Memorial AME Church in West Baltimore. The money is to be used to redevelop a 32,000-square-foot building at 1701 W. Madison Ave. into a community center offering services to children, youth and adults.
The Islamic Center was awarded its $200,000 grant to help build a new community center. Most of the building is being developed for nonsectarian uses, although part will be devoted to religious activity, according to a description of the project provided to the legislature.
The First Baptist Church of Guilford in Howard County secured $300,000 for a community center, although that building is on hold.
The Maryland attorney general's office has concluded that such spending is constitutional, though each piece of legislation authorizing the grants specifies that none of the taxpayers' money can be used to build facilities used for religious worship or instruction.
Del. Elizabeth Bobo, a Howard County Democrat, voted against the Guilford church grant on constitutional grounds.
"I have quite a few constituents who go to that church, and I have no doubt they would do good things if they had a community center," Bobo said. "But there are some things that are so fundamental to our Constitution, and separation of church and state is one of them."
Troubling questions
Outside the legislature, some advocates for a strong separation say that Maryland's budgetary practice raises troubling questions.
"The courts have been fairly clear that this is constitutional as long as the money isn't used for strictly religious purposes," said Suzanne J. Smith, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland. "Frankly, it's very hard to prove that [the grants] have been" used for such purposes.
While the state is not technically paying for religious activities, it is assuming a burden otherwise borne by the religious institution, said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
"If you give them money for one purpose, you're freeing up an extra amount of money for these other, overtly religious purposes," Lynn said.
The constitutional question seems to be of little concern to Rosalie C. Spence, executive director of St. Paul's United Methodist Christian Center on North Linwood Avenue in East Baltimore, which is asking the state for $450,000 to help with an ambitious expansion.
The center hopes to renovate and move into the old St. Paul's United Methodist Church, a once-thriving institution in the McElderry community east of Johns Hopkins Hospital that was abandoned five years ago.
The stone church, with its 18 stained-glass windows and a lighted cross on the roof, sits cold and empty. Inside, it appears as if the members of the congregation couldn't leave quickly enough: Choir robes hang in a closet, and Bibles and communion wafers are scattered around the dusty sanctuary.
The church building needs roof and electrical work, but the structure is sound. Overall, the budget of $542,500 will pay for renovations to the church and an adjoining community building, and allow the church to expand its programs for preschoolers and troubled youth.
For Spence, the fact that the United Methodist Church is backing the project should not disqualify it from government assistance.
"It's about more than church," said Spence, a social worker. "It's about the church taking responsibility for the community."
She said the center's programs will not be religion-oriented.
"We have to respect that everybody who comes here is not Christian," she said.
More requests expected
Lawmakers expect to be hit in coming years with even more requests for state aid from religious groups.
Legislators have not yet had to grapple with a potentially thorny problem: What happens if, at some point, a group begins using a building constructed partially with state funds for religious purposes?
Del. Howard P. Rawlings, the influential chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which must approve all state spending, said such a problem is bound to occur as more religious groups seek state aid.
"I think there's going to be an incident where a citizen attends the facility and finds they've crossed the lines and engaged in religious activity," said Rawlings, a Baltimore Democrat.
Should that happen, the state could sue the groups to recoup the government funds, Rawlings suggested.
But state Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, also a Baltimore Democrat, said such concerns, while important, are secondary to the larger goal.
"It kind of bothers me, but as long as it uplifts the community, that's the bottom line," McFadden said.
Pub Date: 3/15/99