"Compassionate conservatism" strikes again, and this time, the First Amendment is taking the hit.

On Jan. 29, President Bush created a White House office to secure federal funding for religious organizations that combat alcoholism, drug addiction and other social problems.

His move to use federal aid to support faith-based charity threatens to violate the American principle of separation of church and state.

Bush has said that to solve our nation's problems, we must turn to religion first, which begs the question: Whose religion?

Inevitably, the government will be forced to decide which types of faith practices are eligible for tax dollars and which types are not worthy of government funding — a dangerous role for our government to assume. Favoritism of established, mainstream and/or Christian religions will almost surely result.

If Catholics are allowed to use Biblical passages on taxpayers' dime to assist drug addicts, will Wiccans be granted funds to use goddess-worshipping rituals to help alcoholics?

Bush's plan will place the government in the uncomfortable, and perhaps unconstitutional, position of deciding which religious initiatives should receive federal money.

The proponents of the plan tell us to give it a chance. Unfortunately, Texas already has and is still suffering from the results. When Bush was governor of the state, he initiated a similar program to expand religious charity work. Bush signed a law that removed any church-run children's home from direct state oversight.

The superintendent of one facility he supported, Roloff Homes, is awaiting trial on a felony charge of unlawful restraint in the case of an 18-year-old who returned from the home with two sprained ankles and hundreds of welt, bruises and bug bites.

The young man's mother said the home substituted abuse for Christianity.

One can only hope that as Bush expands his initiative nationally, he will take care to ensure that federal dollars will not support organizations that physically abuse clients as part of their faith-based programs.

Our founding fathers, many of whom the victims of religious persecution, were wise to say that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

Bush would be unwise to ignore the spirit and the letter of this clause.

Religious organizations can, and do, play a valuable role in alleviating social problems. No one is saying that religious groups don't have legitimate and helpful reasons to sponsor shelters, food kitchens and counseling. However, they must raise funds for this good work on their own initiative. To earmark taxpayer's money to fund faith-based charities would clearly violate the separation of church and state.