WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)— In response to President Obama’s Executive Order concerning federally funded partnerships between the government and faith-based and neighborhood organizations, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, released the following statement:
“We welcome today’s executive order pertaining to the work of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The order is a vital step toward strengthening the constitutional foundation of the rules that must be followed by religious and community organizations providing vital social services with government support.
“Since the inception of the program under President Bush, we have made clear our belief that the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state is threatened when the work of government and religious institutions becomes entangled in the absence of clear guidelines. This entanglement poses a particular danger to houses of worship, which may feel pressure to dilute their religious calling to ‘speak truth to power’ in favor of obtaining much needed financial support for the good works they do. But it equally poses dangers to the religious rights of beneficiaries. No participant in a program funded by taxpayer dollars should ever be forced to participate in religious activities in any kind as a condition of receiving government benefits to which they are entitled. Today’s executive order greatly expands the rights of beneficiaries to receive benefits in a setting that does not violate their religious conscience, strengthens good government by enhancing the transparency of these grants and partnership programs and protects religious institutions by requiring separation of non-funded religious activities from government-funded secular social service programs (thereby minimizing government supervision, regulation, monitoring and auditing of religious institutions).
“We know that this order leaves unresolved some issues put forward by the Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships as well as the key issue of banning religious hiring discrimination among organizations that require government funds, which must be addressed assertively and quickly. We look forward to continuing to work with the White House to address these issues and ensure that houses of worship maintain their unique character and mission while helping to meet the needs of Americans in communities nationwide.
Meanwhile, Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
Laura W. Murphy, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said: “It is unfair and unconstitutional for our government to allow the practice of religious discrimination when hiring staff for federally funded programs. Federal money should never be used to endorse one religion over any other and, in today’s economy, our American workers should not have to pass a religious test to gain access to employment in federally funded programs. We are deeply disappointed that President Obama did not use this opportunity to fix many of the unsettling aspects of our government’s faith-based programs.”
“This order does not properly address the discrimination impressed upon people of minority faiths and philosophies,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “As long as the government allows federally funded organizations to incorporate religion into the care and treatment of their patients, the wall of church and state separation is weakened, and those who suffer are those who need help the most.”
“I’m disappointed,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “This leaves much of George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative in place. That’s not the change many Americans hoped for when President Obama took office.
“I am particularly frustrated that President Obama still has done nothing to ban hiring bias by publicly funded religious charities,” continued Lynn. “That’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room. No American should be denied a government-funded job because he or she holds the ‘wrong’ views about religion.”
Interfaith Alliance President Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy said: “Much greater emphasis is given to the importance of religious freedom concerns, though the all-important issue of civil rights protections to guarantee no employment discrimination remains unaddressed. The employment discrimination issue was specifically excluded from the work of the President’s Advisory Council and given to the Justice Department for review, a decision Interfaith Alliance supported. However, two years have passed and still, there has been no action from Justice or the White House. While the order puts in place important protections for recipients of social services through faith-based groups, it does not go far enough in ensuring that federal tax dollars are not used to support explicitly religious activity.”
*
Preceding compiled from news releases issued by the respective organizations