White House Faith-Based Task Force Debates Religious Symbols In Funded Programs

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Task Force on reform of the faith-based office held a two-hour teleconference on Monday as it moved toward finalizing its draft report. According to the Washington Post's On Faith, one of the important debates on the phone conference was whether religious groups operating federally-funded programs out of their facilities need to cover up religious symbols during the times the funded services are being offered. The task force discussed two other alternatives: allowing the symbols if covering them is impractical and no religiously neutral rooms are available, or imposing no requirements but urging religious groups to be sensitive to the issue. No consensus emerged, as the group chose Wake Forest Center for Religion and Public Affairs Director Melissa Rogers to coordinate the drafting of the final report.