How may Charitable Choice interfere with and even override federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws?
Proponents of Charitable Choice argue that religious organizations receiving federal funds should be able to “preempt contrary provisions in state and local laws … when those spending-power laws do not permit FBO’s [Faith Based Organizations] to select staff on he basis of faith commitments Congressional Research Service (CRS), the nonpartisan research arm for Congress, analysis has indicated that “there may be some question about their [Charitable Choice employment discrimination provisions] interplay with other nondiscrimination provisions. Title VII, for instance, allows religious organizations to discriminate on religious grounds but not on grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin. What happens, then, when religious doctrine mandates discrimination that may also implicate the other prohibited bases for discrimination?” Some courts have upheld what amounts to pregnancy discrimination when a religious organization fired an unmarried pregnant employee because her behavior vio
