President Biden re-establishes White House faith office

President Joe Biden

Source: White House

Today, the White House announced: "President Biden is signing an executive order reestablishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships, which will promote partnerships with religious and secular organisations to better serve people in need. As our country grapples with a global pandemic, a severe economic downturn, the scourge of systemic racism, an escalating climate crisis and profound polarization, President Biden knows that civil society partnerships are essential to meeting such challenges."

Twenty years ago, President George W Bush established the first White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. As President Bush said, government cannot be replaced by the efforts of religious and other community organisations, but government "can and should welcome them as partners."

In 2009, the Obama-Biden administration continued this initiative, while also putting its own stamp on its name, practices, and policies. For example, this office helped prevent foreclosure amidst the housing crisis by sharing information with more than 50,000 faith-based and community stakeholders on mortgage refinancing and scam prevention; increase the number of summer meals served to kids for a total of more than 1.2 billion summer meals served; assist communities in responding to and recovering from disasters; and train diverse faith leaders on protecting their houses of worship.

The Partnerships Office's initial work will include collaborating with civil society to: address the Covid-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery; combat systemic racism; increase opportunity and mobility for historically disadvantaged communities; and strengthen pluralism. The office will also support agency partnerships that advance the United States Government's diplomatic, international development, and humanitarian work around the world. All of this work will be done in ways that respect cherished constitutional guarantees.

Leading the Office will be Melissa Rogers, who will serve as Executive Director and as Senior Director for Faith and Public Policy in the White House Domestic Policy Council. Melissa has been a leader on these issues for decades, including serving from 2013-2017 as Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships in the Obama-Biden Administration. Josh Dickson, White House Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, will serve as the office's Deputy Director.

"There are not Democrats or Republicans dying from this pandemic, or losing their jobs, going hungry and facing eviction in this economic crisis, or facing the sting of systemic racism or the brunt of the climate crisis," said President Biden. "They are fellow human beings. They are fellow Americans. And this is not a nation that can, or will, simply stand by and watch the suffering around us. That is not who we are. That is not what faith calls us to be. That is why I'm reestablishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships to work with leaders of different faiths and backgrounds who are the frontlines of their communities in crisis and who can help us heal, unite, and rebuild. We still have many difficult nights to endure. But we will get through them together and with faith guiding us through the darkness and into the light."