Religion in the White House

Why do we need any faith-based nonsense in the government?

We don't. In fact, because the entire faith-based operation involves the transfer of public money to religious institutions, it would seem that such an operation is in clear violation of our Constitution! No taxpayer dollars should go to any religious institution for any reason!

Unfortunately, President Obama doesn't seem to agree with me. Thus, he has moved to reshape and increase the size scope of a governmental faith-based structure.

According to Liliana Segura at AlterNet, Obama issued "an executive order that, rather than doing anything to dismantle Bush's faith-based initiatives, bolstered them with a new 'advisory council on faith.'"

But it gets worse. According to a U.S. News and World Report article, "(Obama's) public rallies are opening with invocations that have been commissioned and vetted by the White House." Prayers "commission and vetted by the White House"? Please say it ain't so!

This is, as they say, "unprecedented."


With regard to the faith-based business, Obama has created an Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He did this via an executive order. The Council is to "be composed of not more than 25 members appointed by the president from among individuals who are not officers or employees of the federal government."

John DuBois, a 26-year old former Pentecostal pastor is heading up the faith-based office.

Not good. "However well-intentioned it sounded, the American Civil Liberties Union was quick to voice its alarm over the president's order, pointing out that the mission of the religious advisory council will also be 'to advise the president and the White House faith-based office on how to distribute federal dollars, and also advise on a range of other issues, such as AIDS and women's reproductive health care' -- areas where religious views present nothing if not a conflict of interest."


Mr. Obama needs to rethink all of this. First of all, it is unnecessary. If religious groups want to do good work in the community, that's fine. But they can do it with their own funds, not with taxpayer money.

I shall repeat myself: To give federal monies to religious groups for any purpose is in direct violation of the Constitution.

Give it up, President Obama!


Ms. Segura has much more to say about this issue and you can read her entire article here.

Another interesting article here (which is where I found the photo above showing then Senator Obama's interest in faith-based work).