Posted on 02/06/2009 11:35:11 PM PST by ReligiousLibertyTV
By Derek H. Davis, J.D., Ph.D. Director, UMHB Center for Religious Liberty University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton, Texas
WASHINGTON, DC - President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Thursday, February 5, to create the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The office replaces the controversial Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives that George W. Bush created to provide government grants to churches and other faith-based organizations to administer welfare programs. ”The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another–or even religious groups over secular groups,” Obama stated when announcing the new office at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. The purpose, he said, “will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”
The president’s announcement follows his selection last week of Pentecostal minister Joshua Dubois, 26, to direct the new office. DuBois previously directed a religious outreach program in Obama’s former Senate office and holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University. DuBois also headed the Obama campaign’s religious outreach efforts, which included organizing nearly 1,000 meetings with clergy across the country to discuss how government might work with faith-based and other community groups to improve the lives of people on the margins.
Obama now faces the task of revamping the faith-based initiative while avoiding the criticism that was frequently directed at President Bush for ignoring prevailing church-state law. For example, many faith groups are now waiting to see if Obama will fulfill his campaign promise to prevent religion-based hiring for federally-funded positions within faith-based organizations that receive grants. Under Bush, faith-based groups receiving government dollars were allowed to exclusively hire those of the same faith, a practice that defied traditional law and custom. Obama said in a campaign speech last summer, “If you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them — or against the people you hire — on the basis of their religion.” Obama has not specified how he will handle the hiring issue, but the executive order he signed Thursday calls for collaboration between his new office and the attorney general for advice on “difficult legal and constitutional issues.” (See www.pbs.org, 2-5-09).
No previous president had been as bold as Bush in crafting a specific program that would so dramatically challenge the American principle of church-state separation. Grants to faith-based charities during the Bush years, more than 1300 total awards, averaged more than $2 billion annually. While campaigning last summer, Obama criticized Bush’s plan, saying it “never fulfilled its promise.” Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of the Bush plan was the way it failed, as promised, to end discrimination against religion generally and against various religious groups specifically. When the Bush plan was first announced in 2000, well-known evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson voiced objections to the plan because it threatened “Christian America” since groups like Scientology, the Unification Church, and Wicca might receive government money. But this concern proved toothless, since according to one study in November 2006 reported by the Boston Globe, 98.3% of all Bush administration grants to faith-based agencies from the Office of Faith Based Initiatives were awarded to Christian groups. The practice of excluding non-Christian groups was confirmed by a former staffer in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. David Kuo, in Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction, asserted that applications for federal faith-based funds were often rejected by reviewers because they came from non-Christian applicants. Kuo reported being told by one grant reviewer, “When I saw one of those non-Christian groups on the set I was reviewing, I just stopped looking at them and gave them a zero. A lot of us did.” (Americans United Press Release, October 12, 2006).
President Obama faces a strong challenge to administer his new office in a way that fairly and effectively distributes government grants to worthy faith-based organizations while respecting settled American law governing the interplay between church and state.
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The mission of The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Center for Religious Liberty is to advance religious liberty for all persons, in all parts of the world, without regard to their religious, ethnic, gender, racial or national background. Religious liberty is a basic human right that must be nourished and protected by all human societies; it is the cornerstone of modern societies’ efforts to build a more peaceful world. The Center advances this mission by publishing relevant literature, hosting and sponsoring lectureships and conferences, sharing its expertise with media and other public information outlets, and partnering with other persons and groups who share the goal of advancing religious liberty. The web site for the Center can be found at www.umhb.edu/academics/crl
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I like it when Obama pretends not to worship Satan.
maybe we should all start our own non-sectarian faith-based group?
Translation: We're going to do exactly what Bush did with the office, but we're going to give more money to anti-Semitic religious groups. And we will be praised for this by the usual suspects.
The title almost sounds as if Obama plans on marrying faith based groups and ACORN, keeping the faith based groups under the watchful eye of his minions in ACORN. The implications of that would be chilling, regular reports on what churches are up to in any given area.
NEVER, NEVER TRUST A COMMUNIST!!!!!!!
OBAMA IS A COMMUNIST.
NEVER, NEVER TRUST A COMMUNIST!!!!!!!
OBAMA IS A COMMUNIST.
So ... he selects one of his cronies to head this particular aberration.
I think the guy goes beyond communism. His willingness to deal with terrorists sets a new low for civilization.
His latest provision of $20.3 million for Hamas to facilitate immigration, is tantamount to financing the dispersion of terrorists all over the world. It’s honestly hard to fathom something that ignorant being proposed by a head of state, let alone our own.
“Okay Hamas, we’re going to help you place operatives in every Western nation. You just let us know if there’s anything else we can do for ya.”
Don’t forget Communist countries have a “ministry of religion” and heck Adolf had his “Reichs Church” so why can’t Obama have an “Office of Faith.”
I have a funny thing they all mean the same thing in the end.
I don’t want to offend anyone, but I have a problem with the govt. funding faith based anything. (with a few exceptions like disaster relief and chaplains in the military ) Our founding fathers were wise to keep the government and religion from being entwined. It’s just to much potential for abuse. And, on a side note, it disgusts me that my tax dollars go to groups like Planned Parenthood.
You have a flawed understanding of history. The founders were well aware and openly said that this country was based on Christian principles and that they were necessary to the success of any government of the people. Oaths are taken on the Bible. Look at what is on our coins and currency, "in God We Trust."
The founders did say, in the 1st Amendment, that the government could not establish a religion (in other words have a State Religion) nor could it prevent the free exercise of a religion. In other words, there would be no Divine Right of Kings where the church and crown were intertwined.
You can depend on the Left/Democrats to do the opposite of what they say. They will use this to further “community organizing”, a.k.a. Acorn, and funding churches that preach black liberation theology.
The Left always finds a way for us to fund their subversion of our society. This is simply another example.
You are correct. I did not mean to imply that religion and government have to be completely separated. It is not the function of our government to promote 1 religion or denomination over another, but to allow free expression to all. We are a predominantly Christian nation, the idea that the founding fathers meant we couldn’t have a nativity scene or a cross on public property is crazy. I have no problem with prayer in public schools, it would be a welcome addition. But, at the same time, I do believe it was their intent to have lines. Look at the Constitution, it doesn’t give us any rights. It only limits the government from infringing on our rights. So, prayer in school is fine, as long as students aren’t forced to pray. As I said earlier, you are correct. But, I do believe the intent of our founding fathers was not to keep religion out of the government, but the government out of religion. For this to happen, we need to have lines. Government funding of faith based programs is a line I believe we shouldn’t cross. I apologize if I was not clear in my earlier post. Respectfully—JM
Thanks for the clarification. We are in agreement.
Don’t know about any one else, but if the last two weeks are any indication of what the next four years has in store my only suggestions would be to stock up on dried and canned food, bottled water, ammo up, and get ready for the sh*t to hit the fan. (a few kegs of rum and some fine cigars wouldn’t hurt for good measure)
You are welcome. Sometimes when the thought in my head jumps to the keyboard, it comes across the wrong way. I do a bit of writing, I usually rewrite at least 7 or 8 times before I am satisfied with the end result. This forum does not allow that luxury, as a result I sometimes have to clarify or apologize.
Are we really a Christian nation? I think Christians are in the minority and the cultures prevalent and very vocal in our country today will further erode Christianity in our nation.
Sadly, I have to agree with you. In my reply, I was speaking from a historical perspective. Our nations problems are not really financial or political, they are spiritual. When God is put back in His proper place in our hearts, I believe everything else will fall into place. Until then, nothing we do will be successful. Spiritual darkness is killing this country. I know in my own life, when I became a Christian, it put things in their proper perspective. Sorry, I don’t mean to start preaching. It’s just sad to me, as a Christian, to see so many of my fellow Americans reject the only thing that can save not only our country, but our souls as well. That’s the way I see it.—JM
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