Religion News Service
WASHINGTON, U.S., February 6, 2009: President Obama unveiled a revamped White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Thursday (Feb. 5).
“The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another — or even religious groups over secular groups,” Obama said at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday, where he announced the new office. “It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”
Obama said the office’s top priority will be “making community groups an integral part of our economic recovery” and relieving poverty. In a shift from the Bush administration, the office will play a role in foreign policy, the White House said, working with the National Security Council to encourage interfaith dialogue.