The Louisville Courier-Journal recently brought to light a fundamental problem with "faith-based" initiatives. Government partnerships with religious social service providers inevitably force taxpayers to fund religion.

A prime example is the Kentucky state government's relationship with Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children (KBHC). Both are currently accused of allowing public money to fund religious indoctrination and coercion.

KBHC operates several residential homes for children in the state's custody. The organization is a major provider of family social services for the state, receiving $61 million from taxpayers since 2001. KBHC describes itself as a Christ-centered ministry that "reaches out to children and families with Christ's love and compassion."

The article discusses a lawsuit against state officials and KBHC co-sponsored by Americans United and the ACLU. During the course of this suit, we discovered that resident children had religion forced upon them or were not allowed to follow their own faith. "Dozens of exit interviews," court documents state, revealed that Catholic, Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witness and atheist children felt pressured into giving up their religion.

One teenager said, "They tried to more or less force me to become a Christian." Another told of facing repercussions if children didn't study the Bible or attend religious services. Yet another said they were "not allowed to choose when or when not to attend a religious service." A child who is Jehovah's Witness reported "not being allowed to practice that faith" while living at the KBHC's Genesis Home in Mayfield, Ky.

Although the organization says religious coercion and proselytizing by staff would constitute "employee misconduct," staffers confirmed that "church attendance was [at one time] required." One KBHC home was directed to correct a "coercive religious environment" in 2001, but the state continued its multi-million dollar contract with the organization.

The article notes that KBHC received "high marks" for "overall cultural sensitivity" in 2002, but reports of religious coercion kept coming through 2005, when a state contractor stopped performing annual reviews that had elicited the reports. Court documents also show resident children complained on several occasions that staff did not help them understand their family's religious heritage or traditions and "did not provide the opportunity to learn about different races, religions or cultures."

A Courier-Journal editorial said of the article "It's no surprise that some employees of Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children have tried to impose their version of Christianity on vulnerable kids whom the state put in their care."

It really isn't a surprise. Not because religious organizations necessarily intentionally impose religion on people they serve, but because religious belief and practice are inseparable from most religious organizations' work. Organizations should not be expected to deny their faith in order to serve the community, but they cannot expect taxpayers to foot the bill.

This is the fundamental problem with faith-based initiatives.