Executive Order 13279: Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith-Based and Community Organizations
President: George W. Bush
Directed agencies to ensure faith-based and community organizations could compete for federally funded social-service programs on equal terms while preserving beneficiary protections.
Status: In effect as amended.
Is Executive Order 13279 still in effect? Yes. Active as amended; later faith-based rules and offices continue.
What does Executive Order 13279 do?
The order assigned these duties: Justice Department, participating grant-making agencies and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives — Directed agencies to ensure faith-based and community organizations could compete for federally funded social-service programs on equal terms while preserving beneficiary protections.
Checked the faith-based initiative’s original nondiscrimination and accommodation framework and EO 14205’s 2025 amendment. The amendment is not treated as a grant guarantee or as overriding program-specific law and constitutional limits.
Before and after
Before the order
Federal social-service programs applied varying eligibility and participation rules to faith-based providers.
After the order
Agencies issued participation guidance and regulations; EO 13559 and EO 13831 later amended the framework and beneficiary protections. EO 14205 amended the faith-based initiative framework in 2025; statutory program rules, constitutional limits and nondiscrimination protections continue to govern agency action.
Later executive orders, statutes and agency rules could amend or replace the presidential direction.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Department, participating grant-making agencies and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives | Directed agencies to ensure faith-based and community organizations could compete for federally funded social-service programs on equal terms while preserving beneficiary protections. | Agency implementation and regulatory review ongoing |
What happened next
EO 13279 signed.
Federal Register — faith-based program regulations
EO 14205 amended the federal faith-based initiative framework, including this order.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The order operates subject to the First Amendment, RFRA, civil-rights statutes, appropriations and program-specific nondiscrimination rules; it does not authorize government-funded religious coercion.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- GovInfo — official executive-order record (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →