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.

U.S. House Members Ask President Obama to Heed Coalition Against Religious Discrimination

Wed, 02/17/2010 - 13:38

Five members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on to a letter in support of the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD), of which the Secular Coalition for America is a member, and its request that the Obama administration address the problem of religious discrimination in hiring practices by houses of worship receiving your tax dollars under the so-called "Faith-Based Initiatives" program. Read more »

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President’s Faith-Based Initiatives Council Recommends Houses of Worship Be Required to Form Independent Corporations

Fri, 02/12/2010 - 15:27

Secular Coalition for America Praises Advisory Council’s Vote

The President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships has voted to recommend to the president that houses of worship receiving federal funds for social services be required to form separate, independent corporations, in order to curtail religious discrimination and maintain the separation between church and state. Read more »

Secular Coalition Responds to Pew Faith-Based Program Survey

Tue, 11/17/2009 - 11:41

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My Meeting With the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Mon, 04/27/2009 - 02:00

A letter to our constituency from Acting Director Ron Millar

Apr. 27, 2009

Dear friends,

I am writing to tell you about my meeting last week, along with other representatives of CARD (Coalition Against Religious Discrimination), with Joshua DuBois, the director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

I entered the meeting with very mixed emotions. Although I was glad that the Secular Coalition for America has the political connections to meet face-to-face with the person who runs President Obama's new faith-based office, I was saddened that this meeting was even taking place -- saddened that our new president has decided to continue the failed faith-based policies of his predecessor. Read more »

The Secular Coalition Thanks the Senate for Upholding Church-State Separation

Fri, 02/06/2009 - 03:00

While the 111th Congress has only been in session for a month, the Secular Coalition for America and its allies won the first battle to protect church-state separation when an amendment by Religious Right favorite, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, was defeated yesterday. Read more »

New Name, More of the Same? Secular Coalition Responds to Obama's Faith-Based Funding Plans

Thu, 02/05/2009 - 03:00

For Immediate Release: February 5, 2009
Contact: Anne Singer, 202-271-4679

Washington, DC – As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama promised to abide by "a few basic principles" that would protect the constitutional separation of church and state in his plan for an expanded White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He was specific: "First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion. Second, federal dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on secular programs." Read more »

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