#  Groups Push to End Hiring Bias Legalized for Religious Charities 

 





September 18, 2009

 

 

Author: Carrie Johnson

Source: The Washington Post

[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091702530.html?wprss=rss\_politics/fedpage](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091702530.html?wprss=rss_politics/fedpage)

Nearly 60 groups concerned with civil rights, labor, health and education urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday to renounce a Bush-era memo allowing religious charities that receive federal grant money to discriminate in hiring.

The groups signing the letter include the Anti-Defamation League, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the NAACP. It asks the Justice Department to withdraw a legal finding that they say stands as "one of the most notable examples of the Bush administration's attempt to impose a constitutionally questionable and unwise policy."

The intersection of church and state is posing a political challenge for the Obama administration, which is trying to balance pressure from traditional Democratic constituencies with a desire to find common ground on social issues. Earlier this year, President Obama issued an executive order reinforcing the need for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, but he left the religious hiring issue unaddressed.





 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Advocacy/Government ](/news-stories/advocacygovernment)
- [ Business/Workplace ](/news-stories/businessworkplace)
- [ White House Faith Based Advisory Council ](/news-stories/white-house-faith-based-advisory-council)
- [ Christianity ](/religions/christianity)
- [ Interfaith ](/religions/interfaith)
- [ Civic ](/tags/civic)
 
 

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