Faith-Based Failures

Sometimes recalled as an attempt at heavy-handed theocracy, faith-based initiatives were in fact an attempt to make government more nimble, effective, and pluralistic. Since World War II, the federal government has administered almost none of its domestic programs, ­relying instead on states, ­businesses, and established nonprofits. It enlisted religious groups in this system of “government by proxy,” but these tended to be large, established players such as Catholic Charities. The point of faith-based initiatives was to make federal funding accessible to smaller groups, including those run by churches.