Obama upholds Bush's religion policies
Proving he’s no amateur when it comes to tacking as far right or left as necessary to capture some vital constituency, President Barack Obama recently upheld a key Bush administration policy allowing groups receiving federal dollars to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion.
During the campaign, Obama had assured audiences of his intent to keep the Bush White House focus on faith-based groups but with an end to the exception allowing those groups to decide who they might hire based on religious values or principles. Being an actual professor of constitutional law once, it seems Obama had correctly surmised that the idea of extending federal funds to a group which might use those same funds to ensure its continued activities would be all right in the main; but that using those funds also required the group to acknowledge the fact that public money can never be used to subsidize discrimination on the basis of religion, let alone several other proscriptions laid out within our chief governing document.
Not surprisingly, more than a few religious organizations applauded our president vigorously for the brave stance he took in continuing to uphold what seems to be a clear violation of legal principles going all the way back to the common law from which much of our Constitution was drawn, not to mention the writings of John Locke and Montesquieu, to name just a few. Ah, well…such is political expediency when you’ve got a shot at roping in a voting bloc as large as the religious folk in our country can be at times.
None of this should be taken to be an attack against the vast number of people in this country who adhere to the idea of a divine being. Far from it: The good works done by men and women of faith in this country is a testament to the legacy of tolerance and respect for one another the framers of our constitution fervently desired we show on a perpetual basis. For the most part - and with several very notable exceptions - we seem to have by and large made a good-faith (no pun intended) effort to do just that.
However, a President (and especially one as intelligent and thoughtful as Barack Obama) who says one thing on the campaign trail yet does another once safely bedded down in the White House only serves to diminish his office, not enhance it. And it was proven with depressing regularity over the last twenty or thirty years by a succession of Republican and Democratic presidents. This time, though, it seemed like it would finally be different. Like we’d finally come across a man who knew, to the core of his being and with a surety almost frightening in its purity of focus, that the law would tolerate no discrimination nor encourage it to be practiced, even when the religion itself may have correctly demanded it, so long as public money was involved.
The extension of the people’s wealth to groups (religious or otherwise) in our society stands in for the compact against bad behaviors our Constitution requires a people (both in the individual and the collective sense) to swear allegiance to, by the way. Mr. Obama so blithely disregarding this compact is something at once unsettling and deeply disappointing at the same time.
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Fine… But how about examples of what groups he has allowed to do this???
I’m pretty sure he doesn’t directly handle were each dollar goes, he’s just the policy man. However per this article, http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obama-faith6-2009feb06,0,2126007.story , it’s quoted:
“Religious groups such as Catholic Charities and Salvation Army have long received government money, but the faith-based office was intended to direct federal help to smaller churches and organizations.”
I appreciate the opinion in the article but where are the facts to back up these assertions?
This is a non-issue. When a church (or whatever) gets federal funding, they have to comply with hiring laws only with regard to the spending of the tax dollars.
A church can not hire a secretary for any reason they’d like.
A church spending tax dollars on, say, a soup kitchen must adhere to hiring laws.
This was not some radical, pro-religion policy of Bush’s that Obama is shocking the world by leaving alone. This is just common sense lawmaking.
This situation is disgusting and an act of of betrayal against the American people and the constitution. I thought this was going to be put down as the miserable thing it is!!
Amazing. The left wants it both ways again. When they don’t like what is in the constitution they state that it is a living document that should change with their perception of what is right and proper.
When someone else tries to help people and the lefties don’t like it(which is basically always a a lefty lives to direct others lives) then the statement is this was written into the constitution and as such is sacred.
You should make up your mind as to whether Obama is a knowledgeable Constitutional Law professor or if he’s a slimy politician angling for votes in 2012. The Constitution is subject to interpretation because that’s the way the Founders intended it.
Just because his view doesn’t line up with yours doesn’t mean he’s going against the Constitution; it just means you have a different opinion than him.
LOL, Bush is still an idiot!
RT
Citation needed.
For those interested in the source I posted a link in the second comment.
Religious organizations have the right to receive gov’t dollars while hiring adherents to their faith, in the same way Planned Parenthood has the right to hire employees who support abortion, while not hiring those who don’t.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=85734
This is the text of the executive order. Please read this and make your own judgement about whether or not this is an appropriate action to take in regards to non-profits.
I am a rapist. Can I babysit for you? What? You are going to discriminate. Who are you to say what I can do in your family organization? So what if what I believe about children flies in the face of what YOU believe.
Let organizations choose their own leaders based on what they believe, ass hat.
If he is leaving in place the previous provisions, which are indeed constitutional, then faith-based organizations will not be able to discriminate in any hiring that involves federal dollars. They will only be allowed to discriminate in hiring for positions that have to do with their religious activities, which are separate. They are not allowed to use federal dollars for these religious activities.
For example, Catholic Community Services does community work in areas such as housing, employment, counseling, domestic abuse, etc. They cannot practice religious discrimination in hiring. Catholic parishes, on the other hand, can — of course — discriminate in hiring, for example, religious education directors. It would be ridiculous to suggest that a church should have to hire people who don’t believe or follow its religious beliefs to do jobs that are part of its religious mission, just because it also does NON-religious work in the community, and receives subsidies for that work.
You are correct that Obama is a knowlegeable constitutional law scholar. That’s why he’s able to appreciate the difference between the two distinct kinds of jobs, and apply the appropriate rule to each.
This is the biggest non-issue ever. I’m not a very religious person but even I can see that religious organizations do a lot to help those in need in this country. I donate money to several of these organizations and while I could do without the religious literature that comes with my newsletter I realize that it is part of who they are and part of what drives them to live a life of service.
It seems common sense to me that religious organizations be allowed to hire people of their own faith for jobs that are part of shaping that faith and guiding their members. People join a church because of the common beliefs.
It seems like you want to throw down a gauntlet. Either make churches hire people regardless of their religion, which seems asinine, or the federal government should not do anything to provide aid for people who are going out of their way to help those among us in need, also asinine. I prefer a more common sense approach. Give the people who want to help others a little help while allowing them to retain that which made them want to help in the first place.
What ever happened to the separation of church and state? Why do church’s get federal money, when they don’t any tax’s? That’s just wrong. I don’t want my tax dollars going to some “evader”. It’s just plain wrong to give tax dollars to religion of any type.
I don’t why so many folks are misinformed about the separation of church issue. Representatives make decisions based on their beliefs. There is no separation of church and state. Its a foolish notion. There will be no state church of course -but revisionists want religion out of the public square so they state this BS. Faith is thoughout government. They say a prayer before each Congressional session. They have religious statues all over Washington on government buildings. We have to pay for your pagan views why not support views that help people in this spirit-dying world.
i don’t really think this is something that will be grossly missused. can we see some examples?
What ever happened to the separation of church and state? Why do church’s get federal money, when they don’t any tax’s? That’s just wrong. I don’t want my tax dollars going to some “evader”. It’s just plain wrong to give tax dollars to religion of any type..
i don’t really think this is something that will be grossly missused. can we see some examples??
I don’t why so many folks are misinformed about the separation of church issue. Representatives make decisions based on their beliefs. There is no separation of church and state. Its a foolish notion. There will be no state church of course -but revisionists want religion out of the public square so they state this BS. Faith is thoughout government. They say a prayer before each Congressional session. They have religious statues all over Washington on government buildings. We have to pay for your pagan views why not support views that help people in this spirit-dying world..