Study Looks at Bush’s Faith-Based Initiative

The Expanding Administrative Presidency: George W. Bush and the Faith-Based Initiative, by Anne Farris, Richard P. Nathan, and David J. Wright, explores measures taken by the Bush administration to help religious groups get government money to provide social-services programs. The report documents how changes in federal regulations, the structure of government agencies, infusions of money, and public outreach have carved out a much greater role for religious groups in providing human services. The authors seek to debunk what they see as the “common perception” that Congress has blocked the President’s efforts, arguing instead that the Bush administration has moved “aggressively”—and successfully—to advance partnerships between the government and religious groups in ways that do not require a Congressional mandate. The report was supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, in Philadelphia.

Publisher: Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, 411 State Street, Albany, N.Y. 12203; (518) 443-5014; fax (518) 443-5705 ; rndtbl@rockinst.org; http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org; 57 pages; available free for download on the Roundtable’s Web site.