Bush Administration Establishes Faith-Based Initiative Infrastructure for Systematic Constitutional Transformation

President Bush signed Executive Orders establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, directing billions in federal funding to religious organizations while allowing employment discrimination based on religious beliefs. By 2006, faith-based organizations received nearly .2 billion in over 3,000 grants, representing a 21% increase from 2003-2005. The initiatives created centers in eleven federal agencies, fundamentally altering church-state separation by allowing taxpayer-funded religious discrimination in hiring—the first time since the 1960s federal funding permitted employment discrimination based on religion. Veterans Affairs grants to faith-based homeless organizations increased 287% (176 to 506 organizations, 2002-2007) while domestic nutrition assistance grew 9 billion (75% increase since 2001). Constitutional challenges led to Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation (2007), where the Supreme Court ruled taxpayers lacked standing to challenge executive branch spending from general appropriations, making it harder to challenge discretionary spending under the Establishment Clause. Critics argued the initiatives failed the Lemon test by having sectarian purposes, lacking neutrality toward religion, and creating excessive government-religion entanglement while raising concerns about proselytization and religious coercion in federally funded programs.