National (ChristianPR Group) - President Barack Obama will reportedly name a religious outreach director to head the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
According to The New York Times, Obama has tapped Joshua DuBois, 26, the Pentecostal pastor who spearheaded arguably the most aggressive faith outreach for a Democratic presidential campaign in U.S. history when he served as Obama's religious affairs director.
During the Obama campaign, DuBois helped organize meetings with some of the most prominent Christian leaders in the nation, including those with markedly different views on culture war issues.
Exit polls after the November election showed that Obama had made significant gains among religious voters compared to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Prior to working for Obama, DuBois had studied political science at Boston University where he graduated cum laude. He then went to Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and National Affairs where he earned a master's degree in public affairs in 2005.
He was studying law at Georgetown University when he left to work for Obama.
Religious leaders, who have been informed of DuBois' selection, say that he will not only be directing the office created by former President George W. Bush, but be in charge of expanding it to help groups more effectively address social problems, according to The New York Times.
The religious leaders requested anonymity because the appointment has not yet been formally announced.
Under Obama, the office will be renamed the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and will continue to facilitate the distribution of grants to religious and community groups.
Among the most pressing issues that await DuBois when he assumes the position is the debate over whether faith-based organizations will be forced to hire people whose faith differs from theirs if they receive government money.
According to The New York Times, Obama has tapped Joshua DuBois, 26, the Pentecostal pastor who spearheaded arguably the most aggressive faith outreach for a Democratic presidential campaign in U.S. history when he served as Obama's religious affairs director.
During the Obama campaign, DuBois helped organize meetings with some of the most prominent Christian leaders in the nation, including those with markedly different views on culture war issues.
Exit polls after the November election showed that Obama had made significant gains among religious voters compared to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Prior to working for Obama, DuBois had studied political science at Boston University where he graduated cum laude. He then went to Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and National Affairs where he earned a master's degree in public affairs in 2005.
He was studying law at Georgetown University when he left to work for Obama.
Religious leaders, who have been informed of DuBois' selection, say that he will not only be directing the office created by former President George W. Bush, but be in charge of expanding it to help groups more effectively address social problems, according to The New York Times.
The religious leaders requested anonymity because the appointment has not yet been formally announced.
Under Obama, the office will be renamed the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and will continue to facilitate the distribution of grants to religious and community groups.
Among the most pressing issues that await DuBois when he assumes the position is the debate over whether faith-based organizations will be forced to hire people whose faith differs from theirs if they receive government money.
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