ABP on New Faith-Based Director
I did some initial research to try and find out the background of Jay Hein, the President's recent appointee to be the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives Director, to try and understand what kind of philosophy and background he would bring to the troubling office. You can read some of his essays written for the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, "Market-Oriented Social Services," "Re-Thinking Charity," "The Case for Civil Welfare" and more here. But in the end, this is a case where the person in the office matters less than the fact of the office itself, a point well made by the Interfaith Alliance statement, quoted in today's Associated Baptist Press article on the appointment:
The Washington-based Interfaith Alliance issued a statement noting that "neither Mr. Hein nor anyone else can solve the inherent problems in this program. This office violates the First Amendment by creating government-sponsored religion, paid for by all taxpayers no matter what their faith and beliefs; and it violates civil-rights laws by allowing religious discrimination in hiring and in providing services to those in need."