10 February 2009

Obama Aims to Help Faith-Based Organizations Help Those in Need

Some Americans question bridging divide between religion and government

Obama spoke about faith-based organizations at a prayer breakfast February 5.

By Michelle Austein Brooks
Staff Writer

Washington — Faith-based organizations are among the groups helping Americans hurt by the weak economy, and many of these organizations will continue to receive assistance from the federal government.

On February 5, President Obama signed an executive order creating the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, revamping the Bush administration’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The new office will seek to strengthen and assist faith-based organizations who help the American people.

“Instead of driving us apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife and rebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hard times,” the president said at a prayer breakfast February 5.

This new office will not favor one religious group over another, nor will it favor religious groups over secular ones, the president said. “It 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 office also aims to foster an international dialogue on interfaith relations. “I don’t expect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe that long-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish,” Obama said. “But I do believe that if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhaps old rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin to emerge.”

The office of about 50 people also has been tasked with examining potential policies that would help strengthen the roles of fathers, reduce poverty and reduce the number of abortions. It will be headed by Joshua DuBois, a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister who oversaw the Obama presidential campaign’s religious outreach efforts.

The executive order calls for the creation of an advisory board of 25 religious and secular leaders. They will look at ways to improve implementation of policies that relate to faith-based and other neighborhood organizations. They will make recommendations to the president on how these organizations can better assist their communities.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” reads the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This clause has been interpreted to mean the government of the United States may not declare one religion as the national religion nor support one religion over another. However, the exact meaning of this clause is still much debated today, making the issue of faith-based organizations receiving federal funds a somewhat contentious topic in the United States.

Assistance for faith-based organizations started in the Clinton administration, and developed into a more organized partnership under the Bush administration. Faith-based nonprofit organizations received $10.6 billion in federal grants during the Bush administration, according to the Washington Post newspaper.

As was the case in the Bush administration, 11 faith-based offices in various government agencies serve as contacts for organizations seeking partnership opportunities and grants. Opponents of this type of partnership argue that grants to faith-based organizations blur the line between church and state.

Some critics point to a 2002 executive order signed by President Bush that enables faith-based groups receiving federal funding to hire only people of their faith, unlike other federally supported organizations, which are not allowed to discriminate based on religion. The Obama administration is keeping President Bush’s order in place, but it has said it will review the hiring rules on a case-by-case basis if there are complaints.

Those who favor partnerships with faith-based organizations note that these organizations are not given preferential treatment. As the Department of Health and Human Services’ Faith-Based and Community Initiatives office explains, there are no funds set aside for faith-based groups. Instead, government agencies provide resources that might help a faith-based organization better compete for federal funds.

Other supporters of the policy contend that faith-based organizations know their communities well and often are the best-equipped to help people.

“Whether it’s a secular group advising families facing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job training to those who need work, few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods than these organizations,” Obama said. “People trust them. Communities rely on them. And we will help them.”

The full text of the executive order is available on the White House Web site.