…according to the New York Times via Amy Welborn.
Back in May, I said the YWCA had a right to redefine its mission, though the presence of the word “Christian” in its title was puzzling; and I suggested that reactionary religious groups were neither entitled to monopolize the meaning of “Christian,” nor hold federal funding hostage to their standards of ideological correctness.
Circumstances now make it appear that either the Y didn’t think through its hiring of Ireland very carefully in advance — the ensuing controversies were predictable — or it has reconsidered its change of direction.
Well, if the YWCA is going to go in a religious direction, its federal subsidy should certainly be withdrawn.
The YMCA, Young Men’s Christian Association, not the YWCA, has been undergoing restructuring also recently. This has mostly involved reducing their programs to the poor. For instance, in NYC, a major YMCA kicked out the homeless men who had been living there for years. I think Lutheran Social Services tried to help them after that. This was done in order to move that particular Y to a new location and attract large numbers of middle class people.
I think the YMCA is losing its Christian identity by becoming a mere business and should, therefore, lose any tax except status it may have — if it has any.
Whether the YWCA is going thru similar changes is unknown to me. Perhaps others will have that information.