“I am particularly frustrated that President Obama still has done nothing to ban hiring bias by publicly funded religious charities,” Lynn said in a statement. “That’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room…

President Barack Obama signed an executive order Wednesday to further reform the White House Office of Faith-based Initiatives created under former President George W. Bush.

The order requires that government officials refer participants in federally funded social programs to other providers if they object to the religious nature of an organization.

The order also stipulates that faith-based organizations conduct explicitly religious activities at separate times and in separate places than when they are engaged in federally funded work.

An advisory council put forth the 64 recommendations for reforming and streamlining the office, retitled the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships under Obama, six months ago. The order heeds over half of these recommendations, office director Joshua Dubois told the Religion News Service.

The order does not say whether federally funded faith-based organizations can discriminate in their hiring practices, which administration officials say will be considered on a case by case basis, according to the Religion News Service report.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, said he is disappointed this question was left unanswered…

Melissa Rogers, who chaired the advisory council, told Religion News Service that the order both continues and changes the work begun under Bush.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on world.wng.org — however, the original URL is no longer available.]