August 20, 2008

Editor: Stanley Carlson-Thies

Center for Public Justice

Satuday, August 16, 2008 Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain were separately questioned for an hour each by Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren about policy and character issues.

Each was asked if he would require faith-based organizations that receive federal funds to provide social services to forfeit their freedom under the 1964 Civil Rights Act to take account of religion in making hiring decisions.

Sen. McCain gave a strong No, saying that removing the religious staffing freedom would entail “a severe crippling of faith-based organizations and their abilities to do the things that they have done so successfully.”

Sen. Obama gave a lengthy response in which he reiterated his conviction that faith-based groups play an essential role in fighting poverty and other social problems, the federal rules should ensure a level playing field for all applicants, and faith groups should be able to select staff on a religious basis when using private funds, but also that federal funds cannot be used to support “discrimination” in hiring. He claimed that such a ban on religious staffing is a “long-standing rule.”

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