The Bush Administration announced late last month that it would permit federal funds to go to renovate historic sites used for religious purposes. Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton made the announcement on the steps of the Old North Church in Boston, which, as a result of the new policy, will receive $317,000 for historic renovations through the Save America’s Treasures program.

“Today’s grant will help make sure the Old North Church, as a beacon of freedom and a great historic treasure, will continue to stay strong,” Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton said in remarks outside the 280-year-old building. Two lanterns displayed in the church steeple signaled to Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, that the British were advancing on Lexington and Concord. “Today we have a new policy that will bring balance to our historic preservation programs and end a discriminatory double standard that has been applied against religious properties,” Norton said.

The decision marks a shift from a 1995 Justice Department opinion that prevented historic preservation grants from going to places actively used as houses of worship. Norton said the new rule will allow churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious institutions to apply for funds under the Save America’s Treasures program, a public-private partnership between the Interior Department’s National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The program administers about $30 million annually to preserve historic sites.

—Tracy F. Ostroff

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