[WomanofStandard]

"An exclusively religious approach may work for some people, but there's no evidence that it works," said Samantha Smoot, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, which has tracked this issue for years. "Furthermore, Americans shouldn't be required to fund out of their own pocketbooks someone's religious practice."

I don't think this person Smoot has done her homework. I understand that Teen Challenge's success rate (defined as being consistantly alcohol and drug free for 5 yrs or more) is somewhere around 82%. For many years their success rate has baffled and irked government sponsored programs. In fact, I've heard it reported that the federal government, many years ago, wanted "in" on Teen Challenge's success story and approached TC themselves to offer support (I'm going back something like 15 yrs...)but strings of "no pushing of the God factor" were attached so of course, Teen Challenge declined the funds offered by the government. They have been donor supported for something like 30 yrs. now.

[tacticalogic]

IMHO, it's more likely to do some good than the 152 million a year we're paying for those idiot TV commercials

[freeeee]

Churches taking money from the government? SUCKERS!!!

Y'all should start praying right now, because if you think you're going to be the first people in history to take Caesar's money and not play by Caesar's rules, you're going to need a miracle.

[freeeee]

"That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical...that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminals who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way..."
Thomas Jefferson, A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia, 1785

Don't say you weren't warned....