Remember the Faith-Based Initiative?

News and analysis…

Feb 4 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the 58th National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington on February 10, 2010. UPI/Martin H. Simon/Pool Content © 2010 Newscom All rights reserved.

Yesterday morning during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast President Obama touched upon several topics, ranging from Haiti to health care to the anti-GLBT law in Uganda. He also mentioned the positive work done by of the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (i.e. the Faith-Based Initiative). Snuck into the  middle of the speech, it was a smooth gloss over of what has been a sticky issue in the relationship between the Obama administration and American religious communities. But is all really well in the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and what does its future look like?

The White House | Through faith, but not through faith alone, we can unite people to serve the common good.  And that’s why my Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has been working so hard since I announced it here last year.  We’ve slashed red tape and built effective partnerships on a range of uses, from promoting fatherhood here at home to spearheading interfaith cooperation abroad.  And through that office we’ve turned the faith-based initiative around to find common ground among people of all beliefs, allowing them to make an impact in a way that’s civil and respectful of difference and focused on what matters most.

Spiritual Politics | Under Obama, the idea of FBO [faith-based organizations] superiority has been jettisoned, the money-funneling purpose shuttled aside. In their place is generalized outreach to the “faith community”–understood in a much broader way than the Bushies did. It’s all about motherhood-and-apple pie…make that fatherhood. Controversial sticking points like the Bush permission for FBOs to hire only their own co-religionists with public funds have disappeared into the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council, never to be heard about again.

The Washington Post | Critics say that the faith-based office isn’t enough of a priority at the White House and that faith leaders who were consulted regularly during the campaign are now simply copied on pro-forma e-mails. They complain that Obama is no longer using the faith language that he employed as a candidate to frame his policy goals, and that before the new faith council convened, some of the most controversial questions, including religious hiring and abortion, were taken off the table.

“We’re wondering if religiously driven voices really have a voice at the table,” said David Gushee, an evangelical ethicist who has been in regular contact with Obama’s team since the presidential campaign. And whether “gatekeepers around the president are thinking he has more important constituencies to pay attention to.”

The Anti-Defamation League | In an open letter timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the February 5, 2009 executive order creating the president’s faith-based program, ADL was joined by 24 national organizations in urging the White House to prevent government-funded religious discrimination and protect social service beneficiaries from unwelcome proselytizing.

“We recognize that the diverse and respected panel of religious and secular leaders and scholars the president selected for his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships last February has been meeting to recommend best practices and reforms for these social welfare partnerships.  We especially appreciate the welcome recommendations made by the council’s Reform Taskforce to address concerns about constitutionality, transparency, accountability, beneficiary rights, and the integrity and independence of religious institutions.

However, we are disappointed at the lack of urgency by the White House to address proselytizing and discrimination concerns.  There is no guarantee that the council will approve all the needed reforms – and there is absolutely no reason to wait.  The president should act now to restore the constitutionally required safeguards and civil rights protections governing partnerships between government and religiously affiliated institutions.”

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Pakistan welcomed the offer, but said it sought clarification on the contents of the proposed talks before giving a formal answer.

“There are now signals emanating from India that they are willing to talk bilaterally,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Pakistani foreign minister, told the Reuters news agency.

“We welcome this … if it leads to resumption of the composite dialogue.”

India halted peace talks between the two countries after co-ordinated attacks at several Mumbai locations in November 2008 left 166 people dead.

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