A Letter to the President

On Tuesday of this week forty-one or so leaders of various Christian organizations in America signed this letter addressed to President Obama. The gist is that the President stay the course and continue to permit religiously-affiliated social-service organizations that disperse federal money to hire people who support the organization's mission. In other words, that Christian (and other faith-based entities) have the same freedom in hiring matters as ideological and political organizations.

Some question the nature and extent of federal social spending. And some religiously-based organizations shy away from federal funds out of concern for federal control. (The cynic's Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules.") One might think that the freedom of any organization to hire employees who fit its mission is common sense. But common sense and government are often uneasy bedfellows.