Biden White House officials hold first meeting with atheist, secular groups
The May 14 meeting followed previous meetings representatives of the secular community had with the Obama administration in 2010 and 2013. Melissa Rogers, bottom left, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, speaks during a meeting with atheist and secular groups, Friday, May 14, 2021. Video screengrab
May 17, 2021
(RNS) Representatives of atheist and secular groups held their first meeting with White House officials last week, marking a willingness by the Biden administration to work with the growing networks of religiously unaffiliated Americans.
The Secular Coalition for America set up the Friday (May 14) meeting with Melissa Rogers, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
“By participating in this meeting, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships displayed that they’re open to embracing pluralism, diversity of thought and the secular community,” the coalition said, calling the meeting “a welcomed divergence from the outlook and behaviors of the previous administration.”
Among other things, Mr. Trump launched a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative in 2018 to help faith-based organizations get equal access to government funding somewhat similar to the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives created by former President
George W. Bush in 2002. Former President
Barack Obama followed up in 2012 with the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which reached out to “nonprofit organizations, both secular and faith-based, to more effectively serve Americans in need.”
NORWALK, Conn. Some Norwalk announcements for you:
One book One Community book discussion
Jewish atheist from the Bible Belt to offer perspectives
The Norwalk Art Space high school bus shelter art competition
Book group online
Norwalk Public Library’s “One Book One Community” Zoom discussion group will be open to the public 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday May 10, according to a press release. The topic will be Marcelo Hernandez Castillo’s well-reviewed memoir
Children of the Land, in which Mexican-born Castillo, who entered the U.S. with his parents at age five, recalls his often difficult journey from undocumented status to earning a Master’s degree at University of Michigan.
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