EO 13279 Title 3--The President (c) No organization should be discriminated against on the basis of reli- gion or religious belief in the administration or distribution of Federal fi- nancial assistance under social service programs; (d) All organizations that receive Federal financial assistance under so- cial services programs should be prohibited from discriminating against beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of the social services programs on the basis of religion or religious belief. Accordingly, organizations, in pro- viding services supported in whole or in part with Federal financial assist- ance, and in their outreach activities related to such services, should not be allowed to discriminate against current or prospective program bene- ficiaries on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a reli- gious belief, or a refusal to actively participate in a religious practice; (e) The Federal Government must implement Federal programs in ac- cordance with the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Therefore, organizations that engage in inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, and proselytization, must offer those services separately in time or location from any programs or services supported with direct Federal financial as- sistance, and participation in any such inherently religious activities must be voluntary for the beneficiaries of the social service program supported with such Federal financial assistance; and (f) Consistent with the Free Exercise Clause and the Free Speech Clause of the Constitution, faith-based organizations should be eligible to compete for Federal financial assistance used to support social service programs and to participate fully in the social service programs supported with Federal financial assistance without impairing their independence, autonomy, ex- pression, or religious character. Accordingly, a faith-based organization that applies for or participates in a social service program supported with Fed- eral financial assistance may retain its independence and may continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, development, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use direct Fed- eral financial assistance to support any inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization. Among other things, faith-based organizations that receive Federal financial assistance may use their facilities to provide social services supported with Federal financial assistance, without removing or altering religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols from these facilities. In addition, a faith-based organization that applies for or participates in a social service program supported with Federal financial assistance may retain religious terms in its organization's name, select its board members on a religious basis, and include religious references in its organization's mission statements and other chartering or governing documents. Sec. 3. Agency Implementation. (a) Specified agency heads shall, in coordination with the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (White House OFBCI), re- view and evaluate existing policies that have implications for faith-based and community organizations in order to assess the consistency of such policies with the fundamental principles and policymaking criteria articu- lated in section 2 of this order. (b) Specified agency heads shall ensure that all policies that have impli- cations for faith-based and community organizations are consistent with the 260
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