Faith-Based Programs

Prior to the creation of "charitable chioce" in the 1990s and the faith-based initiatives of the Bush Administration, the constitutional rights of taxpayers and social service recipients were protected because entities receiving federal financial assistance had to abide by employment non-discrimination laws and constitutional religious liberty protections. The Secular Coalition for America opposes providing social service funding directly to religious organizations, seeing this practice as a clear violation of the separation of church and state.

Take Action: Tell President Obama to End Federally Funded Religious Bias in Hiring

Tue, 06/21/2011 - 11:33

Nearly three years ago, then-candidate Barack Obama made a campaign pledge to end a Bush-era policy that allowed religious organizations receiving federal tax dollars to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. Read more »

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House Members, Secular Coalition Urge Obama to End Religious Bias in Hiring

Tue, 06/21/2011 - 09:41

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a press conference today, members of the U.S. House, the Secular Coalition for America, and the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD) will call upon President Obama to fulfill the promise he made nearly three years ago during a campaign speech in Zanesville, Ohio, to end federally funded hiring discrimination on the basis of religion.
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Take Action: Demand Taxpayer Representation on Church Tax Commission

Thu, 04/14/2011 - 11:30

On Wednesday, April 13, it was announced that a commission formed at the request of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to "spearhead an independent national effort" to investigate issues related to tax loopholes for religious organizations is composed exclusively of evangelical Christians -- several of whom are directly benefitting from current tax inequalities in our system.
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SCA Calls for Stricter Faith-Based Regulation

Fri, 11/19/2010 - 19:24

SCA Calls for Stricter Faith-Based Regulation
Obama Allows Religious Discrimination in Hiring to Continue

(Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010) On Wednesday, President Obama signed an executive order modifying the “Faith-Based Initiatives” program first established by former President Bush in 2001. Read more »

Faith-Based Initiatives Hearing Written Testimony

Fri, 11/19/2010 - 18:07

Congressional Testimony on Faith-Based and Community Partnerships by Sean Faircloth
Written Testimony of Sean Faircloth, Executive Director, Secular Coalition for America

Submitted to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
Committee on the Judiciary
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Secular Coalition for America Opposes Elena Kagan for Supreme Court

Thu, 06/24/2010 - 12:39

Justice John Paul Stevens has been a historic champion of our constitutional separation of church and state. He has consistently sought to strike down special privileges for religion and its impositions on the rights of others. President Obama's choice to replace him, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, does not appear to embrace the fundamental American principle of church-state separation with the vigor and force of Justice John Paul Stevens. Read more »

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