Influence Of Religion In Government Radically Expanded
President Donald Trump signed a particular executive order which will strengthen faith groups’ influence in the Trump administration. The signing of this executive order took place during the National Day of Prayer proceedings in the White House Rose Garden. The initiative, named White House Faith and Opportunity, will make sure that the faith-centric and the community organizations which form the society’s bedrock will have effective advocates within the Trump administration and all over the Federal Government.
Trump Passes Law To Strengthen Ties With Evangelicals [/tweetthis]
On National Prayer Day, President Trump signs an executive order launching a faith-based initiative at the White House pic.twitter.com/7DsY6UrYIz
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 3, 2018
Trump is not the first US President to undertake faith-centric initiatives in White House. His predecessor in office, Barack H. Obama also launched the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. George W. Bush, who was president before him, started his own Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Differences do exist when the initiatives of the Trump administration are compared with the methods of the previous ones.
The reach of the new office is not much more extensive than its predecessors. The office, unlike what happened in other administrations, will work in tandem with all the government agencies. This includes even offices without the department particular faith-centric initiatives. Any agency which does not have faith-centric offices is slated to get assigned a liaison which will work with Faith and Opportunity Initiative.
It is natural that members of Trump’s evangelical advisory council will be happy with the development. The informal group is a collection of faith advisors who maintain close access to the president. Paula White, the evangelical preacher, told a Christian news source that the order is a historic one. It strengthens the relationship between the US Government and faith in the United States. Some faith leaders were cautious about the law. Rabbi Jack Moline, the Interfaith Alliance President, said they do not consider the respect for First Amendment to be an arbitrary one. Trump has used this to court his party’s evangelical supporters.