"Faith-Based Competition," a Commentary by Katherine Marshall

June 16, 2009

Author: Katherine Marshall

Source: The Washington Post/Newsweek

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/georgetown/2009/06/level_playing_field.html

The meeting room at the Washington office of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life was packed last Wednesday to hear from Joshua DuBois, head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

All of 26 years old, DuBois quickly dispelled some widely held assumptions. There is no pot of money in the White House, he said firmly, and the purpose of the office is emphatically not to make sure that faith groups get their "fair share" of federal funding. Rather, the job of Dubois' team is to be a catalyst for faith engagement in the context of the government's massive bureaucracies, to "level the playing field."

That means, first, that in the competition for federal funding (including from the stimulus package) faith groups should not be handicapped. That's a stated goal going back several administrations and there's a general sense that the field is more level. But given the deeply complex issues around church and state, it's far from straightforward despite oceans of ink and years of testing. As one speaker pointed out, debates around government and faith are not only about rules. Attitudes of the large and complex government apparatus, where people may not share a full conviction that faith groups do the work best, play important roles.

The challenges DuBois and the administration face are huge. They inherit a complex legacy from the Bush years, a faith office that had its ups and downs. Navigating the rapids of law and practice on religious engagement in policy is full of hazards: hiring practices, perceived bias, murky assessments to prove that programs produce results. And the faith office is clearly besieged by groups with messages, needs and dreams. The economic crisis means that needs are enormous and the organizations with faith connections are right on the spot to hear about them. They want action and action now.