In a White House
blog posting yesterday, Joshua Dubois, Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, discusses the Interagency Working Group on Religion and Global Affairs that was launched, co-chaired by the White House Faith-Based Office and the White House National Security staff. He said in part:
This groundbreaking working developed a comprehensive map of how our government currently engages religious actors in foreign affairs through USAID Missions, Embassies, and Departments across government from the Department of Defense to the Department of Health and Human Services. As a result of this work, we’ve seen new courses in religious engagement at the Foreign Service Institute, new efforts on religion and global affairs at the State Department, and a renewed focus on the intersection of religion and foreign policy across the United States Government.
We also work closely with the National Security Staff to make sure that the administration is supporting the protection of religious minorities. We formed a first-ever interagency working group towards this end, and meet regularly to ensure that federal agencies are working with one another towards a comprehensive approach to religious minority protection.
