The Bush administration awarded $2 billion in grants last year to social programs operated by churches, synagogues, and mosques, the New York Times reports.

In an address before a meeting of three hundred religious leaders, President Bush said that of the $20 billion in discretionary federal funds available for social programs last year, 10 percent had gone to faith-based charities, a 20 percent increase over 2003. But the significant increase for faith-based programs may be less than it seems. In 2003, $1.1 billion was awarded to faith-based groups from funds administered by five agencies — the departments of Heath and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Education. Similar grants were also awarded in 2003 from funds administered by the Department of Agriculture and the Agency for International Development. While those funds were not included in the 2003 total, they were included in the total announced for 2004.

Legislation that would have made it easier for faith-based charities to seek government funds for social programs stalled in Congress during President Bush's first term, forcing the president to sign three executive orders that established faith-based offices in ten federal agencies. According to administration officials, the executive orders were necessary because faith-based charities had been routinely discriminated against in the past simply because of their religious orientation.

"It is said that faith can move mountains," said the president in his address. "Here in Washington, D.C., those helping the poor and needy often run up against a big mountain called bureaucracy. And I'm here to talk about how to move that mountain so that we can reach out and partner with programs which reach out to people who hurt."

Critics of the president's faith-based initiative have countered that he is promoting the view of a deeply religious White House, blurring the separation between church and state, and using taxpayer dollars to promote organized religion.