On Friday, President Obama's Faith Advisory Council formally approved task force recommendations, including 12 from the group charged with offering reforms to the faith-based initiative itself. The Baptist Joint Committee's Brent Walker served on that task force.
“Partnerships between government and religious organizations are a given,” Walker said. “But, the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships needs to carefully craft rules that will protect the ability of religiously affiliated groups to participate without compromising the principle of the separation of church and state. These recommendations go a long way to achieve this goal.”
The Council’s approved recommendations made it clear that regulations and guidance regarding the use of federal social service funds should equally emphasize two requirements. First, any explicitly religious activities offered by a provider must be privately funded, separate in time or location from the government-funded program, and, second, nongovernmental providers that receive federal grant or contract funds may maintain their institutional religious identity.
