A report from Politico finds the federal government's stimulus spending has sent significant funds to faith-based organizations.
[A]n analysis by POLITICO found that at least $140 million in stimulus money has gone to faith-based groups, the result of an unpublicized White House decision to spend government money, where legal, supporting religiously inspired nonprofit groups.
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Much of the money went to fund the secular activities of religious institutions like schools and charitable organizations. Department of Education and Department of Agriculture grants went mostly to schools — Head Start programs, school lunch programs and other education-related programs.Charities and social services organizations received funding through the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Justice. And the Department of Energy administered a number of energy-efficiency programs that some religious institutions qualified for.
To be fair, $140 million is a very small sliver of the entire $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: less than 2 one-hundredths of one percent. Still, the funding represents an unprecedented flow of public money to religious institutions for such things as building improvements. Politico's story also claims the administration was "aggressive" in its encouragement of religious institutions to apply for funds through the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
