- Faith-based
In the
United States of America , the term faith-based is used to describe organizations that are religious in nature and distinguish those organizations from government, public or privatesecular organizations.History
In recent years the term has come into public use as an abbreviation of "faith-based initiative", e.g.
U.S. President George W. Bush 's proposal to grant religious charitable social-service groups federal money via theWhite House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives . "Faith-based" is often used as a euphemism for "religious" in this context, in order to avoid the thorny issue of whether such funding is permissible under theEstablishment Clause .Applications
Charities
Funding for faith-based organizations in the U.S. centers around several signature initiatives including the Compassion Capital fund, an initiative designed to strengthen the role faith-based organizations play in human services; Mentoring Children of Prisoners, an initiative focused on supporting the children of incarcerated adults; Access to Recovery, which focuses in increasing the availability of drug and alcohol treatment programs and the Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative which focuses on helping individuals returning from prison to successfully re-integrate themselves back into society. In providing these grants to faith-based groups, the Federal Government has also set up a comprehensive set of supports for groups who are interested in applying for these resources.
A faith-based organization, a term used mainly in the
United Kingdom and U.S. to describe a particular niche within theVoluntary Sector . Generally, but by no means exclusively, a faith-based organization will bephilanthropic in nature, constituted as a charity ornon-profit , and aligned with one of the world's major religions. For many years faith-based organizations have played major roles in society, delivering a variety of services to the public, such as caring for the infirm and elderly, advocating justice for the oppressed and playing a major role asNGO 's inhumanitarian aid andinternational development efforts.According to "
Science and Theology News ", “For all their controversy, faith-based groups are nothing new. Since the late 18th century, from a period known as the Second Awakening, there have been numerous voluntary civic associations loosely connected with faith groups. They included the Connecticut Missionary Society, formed in 1798, and the American Home Missionary Society, formed in New York in 1826.”Other applications
The terms "faith-based", or "faith-based community", can also be used as a term to describe a perceived style of, or trend in,
politics , which is broadly opposed to thereality-based approach. Faith-based politics typically supports faith-based initiatives, without siding with any particular faith, and is skeptical of some areas of scientific concern, such asevolution andanthropogenic global warming .Fact|date=April 2007References
ee also
*
Faith-based community
*Reality-based community
*Salvation Army
*Samaritan Institute - A faith-based counseling organizationExternal links
* [http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equality-diversity/faith-and-religion/?version=1/ UK Home Office]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/ White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives]
* [http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article_print.cfm?id=2740 Texas town's faith-based prison plan questioned]
*Charles Colson 's [http://www.mediatransparency.com/story.php?storyID=91 Christian-based prison project on trial in Iowa]
* [http://www.clintreilly.com/?p=215 "The Faith Based Charade" by former Catholic Charities President Clint Reilly]
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