FLAP OVER BUSH, FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE SMEARS EFFORTS TO PROTECT
               SEPARATION, STOP "RELIGION TAX"

Remarks made by a former Bush administration operative earlier this
week "insult those who question the effort to subsidize religious
groups with tax money and protect the separation of church and state,"
charged an Atheist civil rights group.

David Kuo, who served as Deputy Director for the White House Office of
Faith-based and Community Initiatives groused that the Bush
Administration failed to appropriate sufficient money to churches and
other sectarian groups involved in operating social welfare programs.
His comments originally appeared on the web site beliefnet.com, and on
Tuesday were carried in The Washington Post.

"Mr.  Kuo is not only skewing the truth about the sheer size and
significance of the faith-based initiative," said Ellen Johnson,
president of American Atheists, "he is insulting those who have
legitimate concerns that this experiment is fleecing the taxpayers and
violating the separation of church and state."

In his essay, Kuo charged that those in congress who did not support
the scheme to use public money to fund religion-based programs were
guilty of "knee jerk opposition."  He also described the concerns of
those opposing the use of tax funds to repair dilapidated churches
under the guise of "historic preservation" as mere "jabbering."

"Mr. Kuo says he wishes to help the poor, but he and other supporters
of the faith-based initiative are undermining constitutional
protections and imposing a de facto 'Religion Tax' on Americans,
including millions of Atheists and other nonbelievers who do not
accept religious creeds," said Johnson.

Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists, said
that Kuo was also skewing the facts about the size of the faith-based
initiative's impact on the budget.

"He says that Bush failed to secure $8 billion in funding, but the
truth is that the president has used his Executive Orders to make over
$60 billion available to churches and other religious groups."

"This is the biggest transfer of public money from the treasury to the
coffers of organized religion," said Silverman.  It amounts to a
'Religion Tax,' and there are better ways to help the poor and needy
without gutting the First Amendment to our constitution."

(American Atheists is a nationwide movement that defends the civil
rights of nonbelievers; works for the separation of church and state;
and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)