Faith Based Politics
Although “charitable choice” and President Bush’s “Faith Based Initiative” have fallen off the front pages, they are far from history. The Roundtable on Religion and Social Policy, which provides comprehensive reporting and legal analysis on government support of faith-based social services, has an important new analysis out this week which both looks at the status of the White House Office on Faith Based and Community Initiatives and offers a variety of views about the office’s work in advance of, and even in the wake of, the 2008 Presidential election.
The Roundtable, whose Advisory Council includes RAC Director Rabbi David Saperstein, offers a variety of perspectives, ranging from the Family Research Council to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
John Dilliuo, who was the White House Office’s first director, offers this observation:
In the mid-1990s, 'faith-based' drew blank stares, but 'faith-based' is now a permanent part of the public policy vernacular. I’ve studied the various presidential candidates' respective positions on public-private partnerships involving religious nonprofit organizations. I've talked to several candidates or their policy advisors. I'm glad to predict that most candidates in both parties, if elected, would be more sympathetic than not to the centrist vision of 'faith-based and community initiatives' that both Gore and Bush endorsed in 2000, and with which Bush began in 2001.
And, as usual, I find myself agreeing with Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United, who tells the Roundtable that:
Bush administration officials know their days in office are numbered, and I expect we'll see a last-minute frenzy of faith-based activity. They are faced with a hostile Congress, so I expect they will make a final push in 2008 to fund as many faith-based projects as they can. They have put in place executive orders and faith-based centers in federal agencies, and I am sure administration officials will seek to maximize the impact of those actions.
For more on the presidential candidates' position on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, see this handy chart from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.