Echoing Family Research Council Action, the Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights says Obama’s plan for faith-based initiatives would do more harm than good by prohibiting religious groups from discriminating on the basis of religion and requiring those groups to use federal funds for secular programs only. What God-o-Meter is trying to find out if whether these aspects of Obama’s plan really differ from the current rules on federal funds from George W. Bush’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
Here’s the release from the Catholic League:
Catholic League president Bill Donohue urged Catholics to reject Sen. Barack Obama’s faith-based initiative:
“If a customer walked into a New York deli and said, ‘Let me have a hot dog on a roll–hold the frankfurter’–he’d likely be thrown out. That’s what the public should do to Obama’s faith-based initiative: since he wants to gut the faith from his faith-based programs, he should be told to junk it.
“Any church or religious agency that agrees to take federal money on the condition that it must operate in a secular fashion–in hiring and in disseminating its values–is selling out. If Orthodox Jews running a day care center are not allowed to exclusively hire Orthodox Jews, there is nothing kosher about it. If a Catholic foster care program cannot place Catholic children with Catholic parents, it is doing a disservice to the children. If an evangelical drug rehab program can’t deliver a Christian message to its clients, it may as well close up shop. But that’s what Obama wants–he wants to secularize the religious workplace.
“No wonder Obama said yesterday that ‘I’m not saying that faith-based groups are an alternative to government or secular nonprofits, and I’m not saying that they’re somehow better at lifting people up.’ Indeed, if he really believes this then he might as well withdraw his initiative.
“The whole purpose behind funding faith-based programs is that they are, in fact, superior to secular programs. And the reason they are has everything to do with the inculcation of religious values disseminated by people of faith. No matter, Obama wants to gut the religious values and bar religious agencies from hiring people who share their religion. Hence, his initiative is a fraud.”
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posted July 2, 2008 at 6:03 pm
The purpose of the Religious Right to pan Obama is that hey want their brand of Theology forced down the throats of others. Faith based groups that want to indoctrinate others with Federal money violate the constitution.
The Faith based groups that want to help the people and not put conditions on it can work with the money offered by Obama. I worked for a church food program that would not let other Christians work with them and it failed. I know first hand how zealots can destroy the faith work of others. I agree with Obama, Bill Donahue is not interested in saving lives, just recruiting souls for Bill Donahue.
posted July 2, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Yesterday, Senator Obama pledged to elevate faith-based organizations and strengthen the relationship between government and these critical partners who help people in need every day. Indeed, Senator Obama held out the good works of groups like Catholic Charities as model examples of successful faith-based and government partnerships. But Catholic League President Bill Donohue chose to mark the occasion by launching another installment of his near weekly partisan attacks on Barack Obama.
Bill Donohue wants to smear Senator Obama’s authentic attempts to elevate the important role of religion in public life, and that’s shameful. If he had read Senator Obama’s remarks or the details of the plan, he would quickly learn that under the Obama administration, faith-based groups will receive more funding, more support, and a higher profile as government partners. How exactly is that ‘gutting religion,’ as Donohue charges?
It appears that Donohue and other partisan operatives are scared that Senator Obama is achieving something they’ve never been able to do: authentically holding up the best religion has to offer society without using it to divide people.
posted July 2, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Yesterday, Senator Obama pledged to elevate faith-based organizations and strengthen the relationship between government and these critical partners who help people in need every day. Indeed, Senator Obama held out the good works of groups like Catholic Charities as model examples of successful faith-based and government partnerships. But Catholic League President Bill Donohue chose to mark the occasion by launching another installment of his near weekly partisan attacks on Barack Obama.
Bill Donohue wants to smear Senator Obama’s authentic attempts to elevate the important role of religion in public life, and that’s shameful. If he had read Senator Obama’s remarks or the details of the plan, he would quickly learn that under the Obama administration, faith-based groups will receive more funding, more support, and a higher profile as government partners. How exactly is that ‘gutting religion,’ as Donohue charges?
It appears that Donohue and other partisan operatives are scared that Senator Obama is achieving something they’ve never been able to do: authentically holding up the best religion has to offer society without using it to divide people.
posted July 2, 2008 at 7:38 pm
These nutcases are giving me reasons to think about voting for Obama. It would be so much fun to see them have mass apoplexy.
posted July 3, 2008 at 12:25 am
Personally, I think the God-o-meter rating for Obama ought to go up when Donahue attacks him. Donahue is not attacking him for religious reasons, but merely political. No religious group, under Bush or any other President can use federal money to push its religious message. They can use federal money to do charity work.
posted July 3, 2008 at 11:14 am
Obama’s pro-faith initiative, eh? Faith in what, the absence of anything Christian (Ten Commandments, etc.), America’s racism, slaughtering innocent children, or forcing homosexual marriage via judicial tyranny down our throats? Faith in hope and change into Marxism and Socialism? Faith in the government forcing us into another depression? Faith in ceaseless entitlement programs removing all initiative? If you’re going to bash theocrats, or neo-cons, or whatever other term you can actually spell, then stop forcing your religion of global warming on us. Half-white Slick Barry is just another brick in the wall of the “Unholy Alliance” between the loony left and the terrorists, all fighting AGAINST the Iraq War and George Bush.
posted July 7, 2008 at 5:19 pm
It is exactly the lack of critical thinking shown by comments above that lead to choosing leaders who care nothing about us and are only interested in hanging onto power.
It always amazes me when people read something that challenges–if not outright contradicts–their religious, racial, or other prejudices and still hold onto them. There is plenty of room to disagree with a politician’s policies, but swallowing the kind of nonsense being spread by people with an agenda that does not benefit the person believing it is a whole other matter.
After nearly 8 years of one of the worst presidents in recent history–and one who won by benefitting from just this kind of fear-mongering–it is well past time to recognize when we are being taken for the biggest, most gullible fools that ever walked this earth. It’s important to know the difference between receiving relevant and truthful information and having our collective intelligence insulted.