Obama Names
Pastor to Faith Initiatives Office

President Barack Obama will name Joshua DuBois, a political strategist who focused on religious outreach for his campaign, to head the office of faith-based initiatives, TheNew York Times reports.

DuBois, a 26-year-old Pentecostal cleric, will head a revamped version of the office, which was created by George W. Bush by executive order. The office, renamed the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, will expand the roles of community and religious organizations in public work.

DuBois worked with Democrats to build relationships with religious leaders and coordinated events to present Obama as a faith-abiding person to religious voters. He was an associate pastor for a Pentecostal church in Massachusetts, according to TheWashington Post, and earned a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University.

Burns Strider, who conducted religious outreach for Hillary Clinton's campaign, told the Post that DuBois is a "trusted adviser to run it so it can hit the ground running." John J. Dilulio, Bush's first appointee to head the office, said he has been "very impressed with this young man" and that DuBois is smart, calm, and steady.

"He'd be a good guy to do it," Dilulio said in TheTimes.

On the campaign trail, Obama condemned Bush policies that allowed religious organizations to receive federal money despite exercising discriminatory practices in employment and aid work.

"If you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them -- or against the people you hire -- on the basis of their religion," Obama said. (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)