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Policy: The Bible and Welfare Reform
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and marginalized occupy a major place in Luke’s Gospel, which might
mean that he deliberately identifies Mary with the poor.”15Evidence sug
gested by details of the gospel text, like the offering of pigeons, reminds
us that the account of Mary found in Luke is explicitly shaped by certain
theological clues that were important to this gospel writer, like identify
ing Mary with “the poor and the powerless.”16
The lives of poor women were also represented by certain individuals
and interest groups in welfare reform policy debates, yet do not receive
the same treatment as Mary in Luke’s narrative. This is exemplified in the
1995 Personal Responsibility Act, the welfare reform bill that became law
as PRWORA in 1996. The 1995 Personal Responsibility bill, the center
piece of the legislative successes in the Republican “Contract with Amer
ica” plan, was launched under the leadership of Representative Newt
Gingrich (R-GA). Through the use of statistics, it assigned responsibility
for violent crime to poor black single mothers and illustrated the role that
race played in helping to enact the policy. The statistics were cited in the
introductory section of the bill titled “Reducing Illegitimacy.” This sec
tion explained that “it is the sense of the Congress” that the sexual repro
duction of single poor women and girls, together with a list of “negative
consequences” the bill offers, represent “a crisis in our nation,” which this
welfare policy seeks to remedy.17 The proposed legislation specifically
asserted that “the greater the incidence of single-parent families in a
neighborhood, the higher the incidence of violent crime and burglary.”18
In an even more explicit reference targeting black single mothers, the Act
stated: “The likelihood that a young black man will engage in criminal
activities doubles if he is raised without a father and triples if he lives in a
neighborhood with a high concentration of single-parent families.”19
Thus, the U.S. Congress promoted the absurd claim that the mere
presence of single black mothers in high concentrations within a neigh-
Ik>rhood causes crime to skyrocket. There is no explanation given for how
these mothers induce high crime rates other than their mere identities and
presence as single black mothers. Why is it tolerable for federal policy to
l>e based on such a dehumanizing, prejudiced belief? Why is it so easy for
I LS. political leaders to single out this group of citizens to objectify and
insult? Where can one find a rationale for federal reform, written into
(ongressional legislation, that refers to the impact on certain communi
ties
and on the nation of a high concentration of white males in a given
vicini ty?
For example, would corporate regulatory legislation assert that
when white men make up the majority of CFOs and managers of firms