§9920 Operational rule

Summary

Religious groups must be allowed to apply for and take part in federal, state, or local programs just like any other nonprofit, as long as doing so follows the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Governments may not treat a group badly because it is religious. A religious group keeps its religious identity and control over its beliefs, worship, and how it practices faith. The government cannot force a group to change its internal rules (except for the community services block grant rules in section 9910) or to remove religious art, symbols, or scripture. A group’s employment exemption in section 2000e–1 is not lost by taking part. Government money given directly to a religious group cannot pay for worship, religious teaching, or trying to convert people. Religious groups must follow the same rules as other nonprofits for keeping financial records, using generally accepted accounting principles, but must put government funds in a separate account. Only those government funds can be audited by the government. Any intermediate organization that is hired to pick nonprofits must follow these same rules.