Jul 1, 2008

A New Soapbox

Today Barack Obama said he would continue President Bush's plan to give money to religious organizations so they can help meet the needs of under-served people. So far, I'm OK with this. Any organization that is going to meet basic needs, without discriminating against anyone, should have the government's help in doing so (if you ask me and since you are reading this, we'll assume you asked).

But if I understand correctly, Obama is happy to give this money to organizations that discriminate in the hiring process by religion. How is THAT OK? Can we require an particular belief system like we require college degrees? I can't say I am comfortable with that.

While I'm on board for the better part of the plan - helping faith-based organizations meet the needs of the poor - I am not OK with the discrimination in the hiring process. We need to be very careful with this and perhaps Obama and his staff should reconsider this part of the deal.

No comments: