Center for Religion and Public Affairs

New Report: Serving People in Need, Safeguarding Religious Freedom

Nine days after he was sworn in as the forty-third president of the United States, George W. Bush issued an executive order calling for the establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI), thereby drawing unprecedented attention to the issue of partnerships between the government and religious organizations to provide social services. In some significant ways, these and related actions created a new national discussion and changed the manner in which the federal government does business in this area.

At the same time, however, these actions often served to obscure an important fact: prior to the Bush administration, religious groups and the government had been quietly working together for decades. Thus, when the next president takes office and considers these issues, he should not view the moment as merely an obligation to pass judgment on a signature item of the Bush administration.  Instead, he should regard it as an opportunity to rethink an issue that long predates the Bush administration and will far outlast his own presidency. 

On December 5, the Brookings Institution, in cooperation with Wake Forest University Divinity School’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs, released a report with recommendations for the next president to consider as he seeks to make decisions about these issues.  The report is entitled Serving People in Need, Safeguarding Religious Freedom: Recommendations for the New Administration on Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations.