President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(RNS) — As the Biden-Harris administration takes shape, there is an opportunity to gather people of diverse religious traditions to work in partnership with the federal government in areas that advance the common good. Amid a pandemic and growing poverty, the need for partnership has never been clearer.
To begin that work, the new administration will need to make a priority of reestablishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, an office effectively eliminated by the Trump administration.
George W. Bush first established a version of the faith-based office in 2001. But while the office was used to promote partnerships with faith groups, critics asserted that it was also used to funnel grants to organizations led by individuals who would advance Bush’s political agenda. Those critics included the first director of the office, who resigned. Still, Bush provided a start.