Brookings: Topics - Faith-based Initiatives

God in Government: Judge Sotomayor's Church-State Record

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began July 13th. Melissa Rogers urged Senators to engage Sotomayor in a discussion of the broad principles and values animating the constitutional commands on religious freedom.

Serving People in Need, Safeguarding Religious Freedom

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our nation has a long and productive history of government partnerships with religious and secular groups that serve people in need. President George W. Bush’s administration raised the visibility of these partnerships and introduced certain innovations into this system. E.J. Dionne and Melissa Rogers offer the incoming administration 16 recommendations on how to retain as well as reform these partnerships.

White House Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations: What Should the New Administration Do?

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

December 05, 2008, 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM

Since its inception, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has drawn unprecedented attention to the issue of social service partnerships between government and religious organizations. Brookings will release a report, Serving People in Need, Safeguarding Religious Freedom, which suggests ways the next president should approach the that office, including whether to keep the office open or how to restructure it.

The Catholic Vote in the 2008 Democratic Primary Campaign

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In the 2008 Democratic nominating contest, Catholics have emerged as key members of Hillary Clinton’s base, says William Galston. Therefore, he says, if Barack Obama is the party's nominee, "he will have to work hard to improve his standing among white Catholics. If he does not, even states that Democrats count on—such as Pennsylvania—may be up for grabs this November.”

Religion and American Politics: More Secular, More Evangelical...or Both?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

E.J. Dionne and John Green investigate the mix of secular and religious politics in the United States during the post-war period and whether faith-based polarization has a political impact in the 2008 Election.

Need Facts to Promote Faith-based Initiatives

Wed, 08 Oct 2003 00:00:00 GMT

The House of Representatives passed the "Charitable Giving Act of 2003" with a "Sense of Congress" statement claiming that "faith-based organizations are often more successful in dealing with difficult societal problems than government and non-sectarian organizations." However, argues Kathryn Tenpas, Congress must establish a centralized data collection system that requires agencies to report the number of faith-based and community organizations receiving money, how much they receive, what services they perform and how they stack up after an independent evaluation, writes

The Future of Compassion: President Bush's social program hasn't yet gotten a chance

Wed, 04 Dec 2002 00:00:00 GMT

John Dilulio offers a seven-item short list to advance President Bush’s compassionate domestic policies and social welfare initiatives. By letting low-income Americans receive a full complement of federal benefits under existing laws, extreme poverty can be reduced by as much as 70 percent. President Bush could become the greatest domestic and social welfare president in decades if adheres to his promises.

Religious Groups and Service: Challenging America's Faithful to Do More for the Community

Sun, 01 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT

By using the AmeriCorps program (and community service) as a key element of his faith-based initiative, President George W. Bush is broadening the service's political base and its pool of leadership talent. A national service effort enlisting the nation's houses of worship would not only revitalize service, it could well revitalize religion, writes Steven Waldman.

The Three Faith Factors

Sun, 01 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT

John Dilulio examines three types of religious influence in relation to relevant research on urban crime and delinquency. This social trinity of "spiritual capital" can help low-income urban children, youth, and families. As a result, he argues, we should include federal research on spiritual capital and how it can help to prevent teenage pregnancies, reduce public health problems, combat illiteracy, among many other vital social goals.

The Volunteering Decision: What Prompts It? What Sustains It?

Sun, 01 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT

George W. Bush is not the first president to ask Americans to give more of themselves to volunteering, writes Paul Light. Besides Gerald Ford, every president since John F. Kennedy has called for greater volunteerism. Some calls have been resonant, others barely audible; some have produced new federal agencies; others, private initiatives. But whatever the form, volunteering has been a staple of presidential agendas since 1961.

Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity?

Tue, 18 Dec 2001 14:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

December 18, 2001, 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM

On December 18, E.J. Dionne Jr. and Ming Hsu Chen discussed their book, Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity? to deal specifically with three questions: what faith-based groups are doing, how the government could help, and where the government could usefully get out of the way, from either the perspective of the religious groups themselves or on constitutional grounds.

Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity?

Mon, 17 Dec 2001 12:00:00 GMT

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December 17, 2001, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

Since September 11, the importance of religion in our civic life has been underscored by the spontaneous search of many Americans for solidarity, understanding and comfort through their congregations and by a newly urgent national discussion about religious liberty and pluralism. At this event, E.J. Dionne Jr. and Ming Hsu Chen discussed their book, Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity? to deal specifically with important questions about government and faith-based groups. Sen. Hillary Clinton delivered remarks.

Sacred Places, Civic Purposes : Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity?

Wed, 28 Nov 2001 00:00:00 GMT

This collaboration of the Brookings Institution and the Pew Charitable Trusts explores the issue of &faith-based& social programs and organizations, their historical role in society, and the promise and potential dangers of church-state cooperation.

White House Issues Report on Barriers to Faith-Based Organizations

Thu, 16 Aug 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

August 16, 2001 at 12:00 AM

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) released a report on obstacles to the involvement of faith-based organizations in federal social service programs. John J. DiIulio, Jr., was joined by John Bridgeland, Stanley Carlson-Thies, Sebastian Mallaby, and officials of the OFBCI centers at cabinent agencies across the federal government to discuss the report.

Putting Faith in Community

Tue, 07 Aug 2001 00:00:00 GMT

When President Bush created his White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, almost everyone immediately forgot the word "community." Yet if Bush wants to see his plan to assist religious charities realized, argues E.J. Dionne, he'll have to put more faith in community.

Compassion is Good, but Justice is Better

Tue, 01 May 2001 00:00:00 GMT

E.J. Dionne writes that the great opportunity in debating George Bush's faith-based initiative is not that the initiative itself will solve all of the social problems it claims to solve, but that, in the course of discussing it, people will be drawn into the values of solidarity and community–even people who have not been drawn to those ideas in the past.

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Child Care

Wed, 14 Mar 2001 10:00:00 GMT

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March 14, 2001, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Child Care

Wed, 14 Mar 2001 12:00:00 GMT

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March 14, 2001, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Child Care

Wed, 14 Mar 2001 14:00:00 GMT

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March 14, 2001, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

The Role Of Faith-Based Organizations

Tue, 20 Feb 2001 00:00:00 GMT

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February 20, 2001 at 12:00 AM

The Role Of Faith-Based Organizations

Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:00:00 GMT

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February 20, 2001, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

The Role Of Faith-Based Organizations

Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:00:00 GMT

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February 20, 2001, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Some Aid for the Saints

Tue, 30 Jan 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by E.J. Dionne, Jr., Senior Fellow, Governmental Studies, The Brookings Institution, in The Washington Post,January 30, 2001

What's God Got to do with the American Experiment? : Essays on Religion and Politics

Fri, 21 Jul 2000 00:00:00 GMT

This collection of essays explores the unsettledand often unsettlingquestion of organized religions role in contemporary public life. Some of the topics include: the rise of faith-based organizations and the shift of private funds to social servic

Congregations, the Government and Social Justice

Tue, 14 Dec 1999 00:00:00 GMT

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December 14, 1999 at 12:00 AM

Congregations, the Government, and Social Justice: Crime and Substance Abuse

Thu, 23 Sep 1999 00:00:00 GMT

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September 23, 1999 at 12:00 AM

Congregations, the Government and Social Justice

Thu, 15 Apr 1999 00:00:00 GMT

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April 15, 1999 at 12:00 AM

Congregations, the Government and Social Justice

Thu, 15 Apr 1999 00:00:00 GMT

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April 15, 1999 at 12:00 AM

Congregations, the Government and Social Justice

Thu, 15 Apr 1999 00:00:00 GMT

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April 15, 1999 at 12:00 AM

Religion & Public Life: Moving Private Funds to Faith-Based Social Service Providers

Mon, 01 Mar 1999 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by James Q. Wilson (Spring 1999)

Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Some Thoughts on What the Congregations Do

Mon, 01 Mar 1999 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review presentation (Spring 1999)

No Aid to Religion?: Charitable Choice and the First Amendment

Mon, 01 Mar 1999 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Ronald J. Sider and Heidi Rolland Unruh (Spring 1999)

Not by Bread Alone: The role of the African-American church in inner-city development

Mon, 01 Dec 1997 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Glenn C. Loury, Linda Datcher Loury (Winter 1997)

In America's Cities, The Lord's Work: The Church and the "Civil Society Sector"

Mon, 01 Sep 1997 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by John J. DiIulio, Jr. and Bruce Katz (Fall 1997)