June 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of taxpayers to challenge government actions as unconstitutionally promoting religion, throwing out a suit aimed at President George W. Bush's faith-based initiatives office.

The justices, voting 5-4, said a group of taxpayers lacked the legal right to sue over White House-sponsored conferences designed to help groups compete for social-service funding. The suit contended the sessions promoted religious organizations over secular ones.

``If every federal taxpayer could sue to challenge any government expenditure, the federal courts would cease to function as courts of law and would be cast in the role of general complaint bureaus,'' Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's lead opinion.

The decision insulates the federal government's executive branch from lawsuits centering on the U.S. constitutional ban on establishment of religion. The ruling also may shield states, although a number of them have laws that give their taxpayers broad rights to sue over public spending.

The high court said in 1968 that taxpayers could challenge statutes that directed money to be spent for religious purposes. That decision marked an exception to the general rule that Americans can't go to court to contest how their tax dollars are spent because they don't have enough of a personal stake in the outcome.

Divided Court

In today's ruling, the court barred taxpayer challenges to executive branch activities that aren't connected to a specific directive from Congress and are instead funded through general appropriations.

Alito wrote for only himself, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy. Alito said the court didn't need to reconsider the 1968 ruling.

Two other members of the majority -- Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- said they would have gone further and overturned the 1968 ruling.

Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer dissented.

``When executive agencies spend identifiable sums of tax money for religious purposes, no less than when Congress authorizes the same thing, taxpayers suffer injury,'' Souter wrote for the group.

Executive Order

Bush set up the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives through an executive order. The program wasn't specifically authorized by Congress.

Bush in a statement called the ruling ``a win for the thousands of community and faith-based nonprofits all across the country that have partnered with government at all levels to serve their neighbors.''

The ruling reversed a federal appeals court that had said the taxpayers and the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation had legal standing to press their case.

``This is a disappointing decision that blocks the courthouse door for Americans with legitimate church-state grievances,'' said Reverend Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The case is Hein v. Freedom From Religion, 06-157.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 25, 2007 16:24 EDT