WASHINGTON (RNS) After a year’s work, a White House advisory council on faith-based programs adopted dozens of recommendations on Friday (Feb. 26) on everything from church-state separation to fighting poverty and promoting fatherhood.
The 25-member advisory council also called for reforms to the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to help protect “religious liberty rights.”
“The recommendations call … for greater clarity in the church-state guidance given to social service providers so that tax funds are used appropriately and providers are not confused or sued,” the panel’s report said.
“The recommendations also insist that beneficiaries must be notified of their religious liberty rights, including their rights to alternative providers.”
The advisory panel, which will submit its final report on March 9, also urged the Obama administration to ensure that “decisions about government grants are made on the merits of proposals, not on political or religious considerations.”
Among the panel’s 64 recommendations, advisers voiced support for:
– developing interfaith service projects on 500 U.S. college campuses and in 40 U.S. cities
– working to correct the “deeply flawed” ways the federal government measures poverty to better respond to the needy who aren’t currently eligible for social services
– increased federal funding for programs to promote fatherhood, including among fathers in the military and in prison
– limiting the Pentagon’s role in development work
– providing guidance to state and local governments to help nonprofit groups “retrofit and green” their buildings.
The advisers reached consensus on most recommendations but were divided over two contentious issues: whether houses of worship that receive direct federal funding for social service programs should form separate nonprofit corporations; and whether federally-funded religious charities should remove religious art, symbols or messages in facilities used to provide social services.
Adelle M. Banks
Copyright 2010 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted March 1, 2010 at 7:41 pm
All these recomendations need explanations for clarity. Esp. the increased Federal funding for programs to promote fatherhood, including for fathers in the military and fathers in prisons. Do men not know how to become fathers? We have to use our taxes to help them. Help Jestrfyl, what are they suggesting here?
posted March 1, 2010 at 8:34 pm
No, I do not think Churches that provide social services should have to remove religious art in order to receive federal dollars.
posted March 1, 2010 at 8:57 pm
There is a lot of clarification needed to understand what some of that means.
I assume and hope the fatherhood part refers to the harder part, not the macho part.
posted March 2, 2010 at 12:16 am
the fatherhood part means what the shallow cannot fathom. America is in trouble and a large percent of the trouble could be helped if men were in their place as fathers and here’s the kicker, women as mothers.
posted March 2, 2010 at 4:15 am
” a large percent of the trouble could be helped if men were in their place as fathers and here’s the kicker, women as mothers”
Agreed. And it’s my impression the women have been holding up their end somewhat better than the men.
posted March 2, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Shallow me did fathom Ck. Just being sarcastic, and wanted Jest. to say something. Mothers and fathers at home and not in the Military, or prison are working, some of them, three jobs to keep their families in a house, fed, clothed, doctored, etc. Women and Men leave their families to join with the Military, now that must be a great thing for children to see their mom and dad leave them and have to have someone else raise them in their abscence. During the 2nd ww men weren’t even taken into service if there was no mother. Things need changing in a big way in our society. You can’t be parents if you aren’t near your children. So I imagine the fathers are going to be taught responsibility to the children they claim as theirs, but our society keeps them so occupied with wars, absent parents with low-incomes, dysfunctional people that turn to crime that we now have to have Churches be helped by the government to help with social services for these fathers.
posted March 2, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I am not disagreeing with you there nnmns, you’re absolutely right
posted March 2, 2010 at 1:27 pm
amen H22 that’s certainly not shallow at all. Good post, that’s is a large part of my ministry purpose to effectively turn those situations around.
posted March 7, 2010 at 11:02 pm
I don’t know if encouraging fatherhood among men in prison is such a bright idea. Unless the guy was falsely convicted, he obviously did something that made him unfit to be a parent, otherwise he wouldn’t be in prison. I’m sorry but fit parents do not go around committing crimes that can put them behind bars! So some mother is out there, relieved that this awful man is behind bars where he can’t be a bad influence on her kid, and someone inside the prison is trying to get this guy to be a dad…great, just what the poor kid needs!