The Top 10 Everything of 2009

On the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama made clear that he would overturn a Bush policy that allowed federally funded faith-based organizations to take a job applicant's religion into account in hiring decisions. But he chose not to in a February Executive Order establishing the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Condemnation came swiftly from the left: the order "fails to address critical constitutional safeguards," wrote the Anti-Defamation League in an open letter on Feb. 18. In September, 58 religious and civil-liberties groups echoed that sentiment in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder denouncing the policy. Nearly a year into Obama's first term, it still stands.