* US president annou
nces overhaul of former Bush administration’s faith-based initiatives
nces overhaul of former Bush administration’s faith-based initiativesWASHINGTON: Religion must not be hijacked by hate and intolerance, United States President Barack Obama warned on Thursday, as he announced an overhaul of the former Bush administration’s faith-based initiatives.
The new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships is expected to advise the new president on domestic and foreign policy issues and to forge links with faith-based organisations overseas.
“The goal
of this office will not be to favour one religious group over another – or even religious groups over secular groups,” the president said in a speech at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. “It will simply be to work on behalf of those organisations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”
Obama traces his own religious awakening to his days working as a community worker in Chicago and said that both secular and faith groups working to improve people’s lives were vital in the deep economic recession. “Few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighbourhoods than these organisations, people trust them, communities rely on them and we will help them,” he said.
Obama was set to sign an executive order in the Oval Office formally forming the advisory council later on Thursday. He warned that religion was often used to divide people, or as the cause of human discord or wars.
“Far too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another as an excuse for prejudice and intolerance,” Obama said, adding, “Wars have been waged, innocents have been slaughtered.
For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted, all in the name of perceived righteousness.” As well as mentioning worshipers of all faiths, Obama also mentioned those who subscribe to no faith at all, as he did in his inaugural address two weeks ago.
Critics complained that former president George W Bush improperly entwined the federal government with his own deeply-held religious faith, threatening the separation of church and state enshrined in the constitution.
Source: AFP
The new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships is expected to advise the new president on domestic and foreign policy issues and to forge links with faith-based organisations overseas.
“The goal
of this office will not be to favour one religious group over another – or even religious groups over secular groups,” the president said in a speech at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. “It will simply be to work on behalf of those organisations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”Obama traces his own religious awakening to his days working as a community worker in Chicago and said that both secular and faith groups working to improve people’s lives were vital in the deep economic recession. “Few are closer to what’s happening on our streets and in our neighbourhoods than these organisations, people trust them, communities rely on them and we will help them,” he said.
Obama was set to sign an executive order in the Oval Office formally forming the advisory council later on Thursday. He warned that religion was often used to divide people, or as the cause of human discord or wars.
“Far too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another as an excuse for prejudice and intolerance,” Obama said, adding, “Wars have been waged, innocents have been slaughtered.
For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted, all in the name of perceived righteousness.” As well as mentioning worshipers of all faiths, Obama also mentioned those who subscribe to no faith at all, as he did in his inaugural address two weeks ago.
Critics complained that former president George W Bush improperly entwined the federal government with his own deeply-held religious faith, threatening the separation of church and state enshrined in the constitution.
Source: AFP
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