ATLANTA - Feet were stomping and hands were clapping in joyous rhythm Wednesday as the crowd gathered at the Capitol for Standing for Faith Day listened to a children's choir from a church in Cobb County. Members of the Georgia Faith-Based Initiative Task Force, the event's sponsor, had every reason to celebrate. They were about to be addressed by Gov. Roy Barnes, who has thrown his substantial clout behind legislation that would allow faith-based groups in Georgia to tap into federal funds to help the needy in their communities.
"Faith-based organizations and government are both committed to achieving the same goal - improving the lives of the people they serve," Mr. Barnes, who drafted the bill, told his applauding audience. "The state of Georgia is committed to expanding its role in partnering with faith-based organizations."
Supporters believe the surge in religious faith that followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is helping build momentum for the governor's bill and other measures being backed in the General Assembly by a bipartisan coalition of religious conservatives.
But with time running out in this year's session, Mr. Barnes' legislation is the only bill among about 20 that has passed either the House or the Senate. The others, including many left over from past sessions, face an uphill struggle to get past wary Democratic legislative leaders.
"If this war with the Taliban has taught us anything, it ought to be that government shouldn't run religion, and religion shouldn't run government," said Rep. Tom Bordeaux, D-Savannah, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over a handful of the bills.
Restoring religion Many of the bills seek to put religion back into Georgia's public schools, using a variety of approaches aimed at staying within the limits set by state and federal court rulings.
Similarly worded measures concerning abortion are pending in the House and Senate. And an alternative to Mr. Barnes' legislation that has passed a House committee would give voters a chance to amend the Georgia Constitution to allow public money to go to faith-based organizations.
The bill that would go furthest toward restoring school prayer would allow a daily educational period during which pupils in a classroom could speak, on a rotating basis, about their religious beliefs. The educational period could not exceed three minutes a day.
"Our country turns to God and religion for guidance in times of trouble," said Sen. Jack Hill, D-Reidsville, the measure's chief sponsor, referring to the aftermath of Sept. 11. "(Yet) ... we can't have any religious expression in schools."
But Mr. Bordeaux, whose wife is a Presbyterian minister, said public schools aren't the place for religion.
"I'm a strong Christian, but I don't believe government should be teaching my child how to pray," he said.
The two abortion bills would require that women give informed consent prior to undergoing the operation. Similar measures have been introduced in the General Assembly for years without making much headway.
"This bill should just be common-sense practice," said Sen. Mike Beatty, R-Jefferson, the Senate bill's chief sponsor and a candidate for lieutenant governor. "Doctors will tell you that any surgical procedure requires that certain information be given to you."
But Beth Cope, the executive director of the Georgia Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said requiring informed consent prior to abortions would in effect single them out from other surgeries.
"We believe the purpose of this law is for providing biased information that will provoke fear, anxiety and guilt in women facing crisis pregnancies," she said.
Ramifications Mr. Beatty's bill created a flap on the Senate floor earlier this month when he tried to attach it to legislation that would allow mothers of unwanted babies to leave them at hospitals without being charged with a crime.
Democratic leaders pulled the Safe Place for Newborns Act off the floor rather than allow a vote on the abortion provision.
Mr. Barnes' decision to put himself in front of the faith-based funding effort looks like smart politics because he's adopting a position that voters associate with President Bush, said Phil Kent, the president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation.
But Mr. Barnes said he's no newcomer to public funding of faith-based charities. He said he's been working for almost two years on wording his bill in a way that would avoid potential legal pitfalls, an effort that he says took a good deal of research.
The governor sent a memo supporting the concept and asking for information to Bob Irvin, R-Atlanta, a co-sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment on public funding for faith-based groups and a candidate for U.S. Senate, in 1999.
"It took him three years to get around to it," Mr. Irvin said. "It took an election year to get around to it. But I'm glad he did."
RELIGIOUS-BASED PROPOSALS
Here are some of the bills pending in the General Assembly that are being pushed primarily by religious conservatives. With the notable exception of House Bill 1407, which was introduced on behalf of Gov. Roy Barnes, most are given little chance of passage:
BILL NUMBER/DESCRIPTION
HB244, HB462, SB209: Requires women to give informed consent before undergoing an abortion
HB1027: Authorizes posting or reading of historic writings in public schools, even if they contain religious references
HB1171, SB402: Specifies that pupils may engage in silent prayer or meditation during daily moments of silence
HB1407: Allows faith-based organizations to receive federal funds to provide certain social services
HB1540: Authorizes posting of the Ten Commandments, the national motto, the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the Georgia Constitution in public schools
HB1617: Requires prominent display of the national motto "In God We Trust" in all public schools, public universities and government buildings
SB331: Allows a daily educational period not to exceed three minutes during which each pupil in a classroom may speak about his religious beliefs
HR131, SR480: Amends state constitution to allow public money to be used by faith-based organizations to provide nonsectarian social services