An update from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, an independent research project
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The public policy research arm of the State University of New York.

New! On Obama’s Faith-Based Plan, the Debate’s (Still) Over Hiring Rights

In announcing his interest in keeping a faith-based office at the White House, Sen. Barack Obama last
week emphasized that, if elected President, he would do some things differently than George W. Bush to
encourage religious charities to provide government-funded services. But events of the last week revealed
that one of the key controversies that beset the Bush Administration’s efforts to build consensus on the
Faith-Based and Community Initiative would also likely create intense disagreement under an Obama
Administration. That’s true even though the Republican President and the presumptive Democratic presidential
nominee have very different positions on that subject.

The question is whether a religious organization should retain the right to base employment decisions on a
person’s faith when it provides services with taxpayers’ money.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

Click here for a roundup of other news articles on Sen. Obama’s plans for faith-based partnerships.

Click here for a Roundtable Resource Page on Hiring Rights of Religious Organizations.

Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community
Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs
administered by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Labor, and by the
U.S. Agency for International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise,
or experience in particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

Religious Giving Tops $100 Billion In 2007
EthicsDaily.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8497

Charities Waiting For $318m
Newsday

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8511

Market Gets Face-Lift
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8501

Christian Groups To Deliver Food To North Korea
EthicsDaily.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8502

Faith-Based Organizations Help Northeast Iowans Clean Up
Waterloo Courier (Iowa)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8503

Evangelical Leader Discusses Candidates
National Public Radio (NPR)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8498

Faithful Servants of New Orleans
The Washington Post

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8504

Marriage Education State's Aim:
Deter Divorce Organizers Hope To Get Churches' Support With Free, Secular Classes
The Dallas Morning News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8505

Faith-Based Prisons: A Primer
The Tampa Tribune

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8506

Churches Champion Immigrants' Plight; Congregants Offer Support, Money
The Boston Globe

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8507

Aging Out (Episode No. 1144)
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8499

Greenville Woman Helps Start Recovery Program
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8508

Garden Program Helps City Kids Learn, Grow;
Grace Community Church Part Of Project To Help Students Earn College Money
The Nobelsville Ledger (Indiana)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8509

New Initiative Partners State Agencies With Places Of Faith
The Dothan Eagle (Alabama)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8510

Phoenix Airport Chaplain Answers Higher Calling
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8500

Court Rejects Christian School Tuition Subsidy
Bangor Daily News

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8512

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 7/8/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_7_8_08.cfm