Now that the election has finally ended, politicians may be less preoccupied with declaring their allegiance to God, but efforts to involve Him in public policy show no sign of abating. Most Republicans and many Democrats have enthusiastically advocated federally funded, sectarian social service programs, which were promoted initially by the religious right. George W. has even proposed establishing a new federal "Office of Faith-Based Action" (in other words, an Office of Sectarian Initiatives).

When Attorney General John Ashcroft began conducting daily prayer sessions with
Justice Department employees, he confirmed the hopes of religious conservatives
and the fears of secularists: The new Republican regime would make government
more godly.

Ashcroft has loudly lamented the separation of church and state and has
advocated government funding for religious groups, as well as the reintroduction
of official prayer into public schools. Now he's organizing prayer in the public
workplace. According to a May 14 report in The Washington Post, Ashcroft and a
group of employees meet at 8:00 a.m. in his personal office or a conference room
to pray and study scripture.