Jeff Culbreath at Hallowed Things comments on California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signing of SB 1441, a Bill that seeks to prevent any government funding of any private institution that follows a code of conduct contrary to the wishes of the State. In California: The Slide Continues he states:

Today, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB1441 into law. This tyrannical bill further marginalizes Californians with traditional beliefs by preventing “parochial schools, such as private, Christian, Catholic, Mormon, and many other religious universities, from receiving student financial assistance if they also maintain a student code of conduct preventing behavior deemed immoral by their religious beliefs.— Homeschoolers could be impacted, as many California homeschoolers use public charter school programs or the homeschooling programs of registered private schools. The remainder of California homeschoolers are independently registered as “private” schools with the state: these should not be affected (unless they are somehow receiving state assistance), but the stage is set to go after them next.

I follow Huw Raphael’s line of thinking. In Dance all you want he states:

Religious groups accept money from the state and then discover that the state can change the rules.

Oopsie.

Any school, college, daycare provider, business or entity, social service agency, hospital, or other organization that provides services to the state and receives state funding for those services must set aside their moral/religious views or face an elimination of contracts and funding. There are no exceptions in the new California Law.

Now I do not expect a huge change in the landscape of California’s educational, healthcare, or social service network. Nothing will happen right away because the state will only selectively enforce the law when someone or some group is denied services. Everyone will cover their ears and sing a merry tune in the meantime, at least until they get slapped. Then there will be a lot of hand wringing.

Newer Christian organizations (at least under Bush initiatives) and Catholic organization (for a long time now) have tied themselves too tightly to the cash flow coming from the government. Sure, government is a cash cow – but it is also a golden calf.

We are being offered another opportunity to witness to the strength of our faith. Which will it be, values or money?

I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness. — Mother Teresa

Church leaders should heed those words.