For the first time, small businesses with a religious element can compete for loans guaranteed by the U.S. government. Bookstores that specialize in religious books and radio stations with a religious music format are two kinds of these kinds of businesses. A recent rule clarification by the U.S. Small Business Administration opens the door to a wide variety of businesses once excluded from indirect government support. As Peter Aronson reports, the change has its critics, who worry that it signals an erosion of the separation between church and state. Others say that the change is a good one, which promotes religious freedom.
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