{"id":300,"date":"2008-11-23T16:57:42","date_gmt":"2008-11-23T16:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/progressiverevival\/2008\/11\/obamas-white-house-and-the-cou.html"},"modified":"2008-11-23T16:57:42","modified_gmt":"2008-11-23T16:57:42","slug":"obamas-white-house-and-the-cou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/11\/obamas-white-house-and-the-cou.html","title":{"rendered":"Obama’s White House and the Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

As Barack Obama appoints his cabinet there is one area upon
\nwhich the president-elect and his aids, as well as the media have been largely
\nsilent – the President’s Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood
\nPartnerships.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>In a speech on
\nFaith Based Initiatives<\/a> given on July 1, 2008 in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama said
\nthat that
\nfaith and values can be “the foundation of a new project of American renewal.”\u00a0<\/span>Obama reached out to religious
\ncommunities and individuals during the campaign and, aside from white evangelicals,
\nhe carried every religious grouping in America.\u00a0<\/span>The president elect enjoys substantial good will among
\nthese groups who are waiting to see how our multi-faith coalition will be
\nleveraged to work for the common good in his administration.<\/p>\n

This is especially pressing during this economic
\ncrisis.\u00a0<\/span>Living in Princeton just 15
\nminutes from Trenton, New Jersey, I am aware that religiously based charities
\nsuch as The\u00a0<\/a>Crisis Ministry<\/a>, Trento Area Soup Kitchen<\/a>, and St. Francis Inn<\/a> are in
\ndire need of resources as the cupboards are bare just as more people are coming
\nfor help every day.\u00a0 <\/span>As part of
\nObama’s push towards economic recovery, it is essential that he move swiftly to
\nenlist and support religious allies: not only in helping the most vulnerable of
\nour society, but also to provide a moral compass for the national agenda so
\nthat the poor are not forgotten in our haste to assist the middle and upper
\nclasses.<\/p>\n

In addition to offering direct services to those in need,
\nThe President’s Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships also has
\nthe potential to model inter and intra religious cooperation.\u00a0 <\/span>Most agree that the religious freedom
\nenjoyed in America is unparalleled and that our county is a great place to
\npractice faiths of all persuasions.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The Council can be case-in-point number one for the President to promote
\nthe benefits of a religiously pluralistic society to skeptics both domestically
\nand internationally.\u00a0 <\/span>The Council should
\nbe staffed with people from a range of religious traditions and encourage joint
\nprojects between faith communities that offer new and effective programs to
\nserve the poor and educate our youth.\u00a0
\n<\/span>The President’s council can be the place where the torn fabric of our
\nsociety is woven back together even stronger by including the enduring threads
\nfrom all of the religious traditions that thrive here.<\/p>\n

There are still some difficult questions facing the
\nPresident’s Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>This initiative will have to be
\ndepoliticized so that all religious groups feel equally valued within the White
\nHouse.\u00a0 <\/span>This means maintaining
\nrelationships with worthy current beneficiaries while forging new contacts with
\nthe entire range of religious groups who can effectively reach the most
\nvulnerable.\u00a0 <\/span>Using the monies from
\nPresident’s Council to reward political partisanship must stop, and not merely be
\nmirrored towards Democratic leaning religious groups.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Perhaps most
\nsticky of all is the question of non-discriminatory hiring.\u00a0 <\/span>If a group maintains their right not to
\nhire say, a Muslim or a homosexual, then the President will have to draw on his
\ntime as a constitutional law professor to either draw the line, or at least make
\nsure that there is equitable outreach to the Muslim and gay religious
\ncommunities to make sure that they realize that the Council is a resource for
\nall Americans.\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, none of
\nthese problems are insurmountable for a religiously sensitive, fair and pragmatic
\nadministration. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is enormous enthusiasm and hope in America right now,
\neven within this difficult time.\u00a0 <\/span>The
\nreligious community is praying for you Mr. President Elect.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>All hands are on deck as you
\nrequested.\u00a0 <\/span>We are waiting.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Barack Obama appoints his cabinet there is one area upon which the president-elect and his aids, as well as the media have been largely silent – the President’s Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.\u00a0\u00a0 In a speech on Faith Based Initiatives given on July 1, 2008 in Zanesville, Ohio, Obama said that that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,19,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election-08","category-poverty","category-religion-in-the-public-square"],"yoast_head":"\nObama's White House and the Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships - Progressive Revival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/2008\/11\/obamas-white-house-and-the-cou.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Obama's White House and the Council for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships - 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Paul B. Raushenbush is the moderator of the Progressive Revival blog and the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University. .An ordained American Baptist minister, Rev. Raushenbush speaks and preaches at colleges, churches and institutes around the country including the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., The Chautauqua Institute in upstate New York, and the New America Foundation. Rev. Raushenbush has served at Seattle First Baptist Church, the Presbyterian Chaplaincy at Columbia University and as College and Young Adult Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City. He has appeared on ABC World News Tonight and is a repeated guest on CNN. He has been quoted in The New York Times and The Washington Post and is a contributing editor for Beliefnet.com. His first book, Teen Spirit: One World, Many Faiths (HCI) was released in the Fall of 2004. He is the editor of the 100th Anniversary edition of Walter Rauschenbusch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s book Christianity and the Social Crisis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c In the 21st Century (HarperOne). His work at Princeton includes strengthening the interfaith community on campus. He is the Co-Director of the Program on Religion, Diplomacy and International Relations at The Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination at Princeton University. Rev. Raushenbush studied religion at Macalester College before attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he graduated with distinction.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/author\/praushenbush"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/progressiverevival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}