THE NEXT
BEST THING
TO
Blurred Vision
Christian Coalition's new 10-point program
RESERVATIONS! The
meets Jewish opposition.
JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
ast week's unveiling of the
Christian Coalition's "Con-
tract with American Fami-
lies" confirmed the popular
view that the group, the largest
political organization in the coun-
try, is also one of the slickest and
most media-savvy.
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David Harris
Predictably, a long list of Jew-
ish leaders responded with salvos
criticizing the Contract's expro-
priation of the concept of "family
values," and its emphasis on a
"religious equality" amendment
to the Constitution, which would
go well beyond legalizing prayer
in the public schools.
But the Christian Coalition's
Contract is more. It involves a so-
phisticated attempt to blur the
line between religion and politics.
Depending on your perspective,
the 10-point plan is an ultra-con-
servative political agenda
wrapped in a veneer of religious
morality — or a narrowly sec-
tarian agenda framed in the ver-
nacular of contemporary politics.
Either way, Jewish leaders
worry, this latest strategy from
the religious right, crafted with
the aid of sophisticated polling
and focus group data, represents
a turning point in the complex
battle to keep apart religion and
government.
Of the Contract's 10 points, the
call for a religious equality
amendment to the Constitution
has drawn the most fire from
Jewish groups.
The amendment would reverse
major Supreme Court decisions
limiting prayer in the schools,
banning religious symbols in
some public places and limiting
prayers at public events like
school graduations.
Jewish activists point out that
it would force schools to allow all
kinds of prayers, from main-
stream Christians to Satan won
shipers — or force administrators
into the impossible position of de-
termining which prayers should
be allowed and which should be
banned.
The Contract also calls for ed-
ucational vouchers to assist par-
ents who choose to send their
children to private or parochial
schools.
Some Orthodox groups have
supported voucher plans in the
past. But most Jewish organiza-
tions have staunchly opposed
them as a breach of the church-
state wall — and a major attack
on our faltering public school sys-
tem.
The Contract demands re-
strictions on access to porno-
graphic materials on cable
television and computer net-
works, and it calls for rejection of
the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child, a fa-
vorite target for religiously mind-
ed conspiracy theorists.
The Christian Coalition has
carefully framed these proposals
in bland terminology that sug-
gests that effective, rational pub-
lic policy is their only motive.
An ultra-
conservative
political agenda
wrapped in a veneer
of religious morality.
"But this is clearly a religious
design on how government
should work — and a highly dog-
matic, sectarian design," said
Steve Gutow, executive director
of the National Jewish Democ-
ratic Council, a partisan group
that supports Democratic candi-
dates. "That's what makes this
so dangerous; they've learned to
use these political concepts to
couch their religious dogma."
But the Contract goes further
— such as calling to abolish the
Department of Education. It
would also cut off federal funding
for the National Endowments for
the Arts and Humanities as well
as the Legal Services Corpora-
tion, which provides legal aid to
poor clients.
Eventually, the Contract
would turn over welfare pro-
grams to private charities. Jew-
ish Federation leaders,
responsible for an array of social
services funded by a combination
of government and private mon-
ey, fear that could destroy what