Many religious charities do fantastic work.
But many others fail to provide a public benefit and some cause harm.
It's time to end religious privilege in charity law.
Charity work carried out by people of all faiths and none should be recognised and celebrated. Much of the work of religious charities, such as helping the poor, is secular in nature and beneficial to society.
But there are religious organisations which exploit the privileged status of religion in charity law to conduct activities that do not fulfil a genuine public benefit, and only serve to further religious ideology.
In the worst cases, religious charities may harm society and individuals.
Registered charities must serve a purpose recognised as "charitable". Charity laws specify a list of "charitable purposes," one of which is "the advancement of religion".
Charities must also demonstrate that they provide a genuine public benefit. But guidelines are vague on what constitutes a public benefit, particular in relation to religious activities. There is still an assumption in the charity system that religion is inherently beneficial. This view is not supported by evidence and implies those without a religion are somehow less moral or charitable.
The inclusion of the advancement of religion within charitable purposes gives religion a privileged position in the charity sector. It enables religious organisations to acquire all the benefits of charitable status, including tax relief, gift aid and public respectability, simply by "advancing religion".
It also includes religious organisations that cause harm to society. This includes charities which facilitate religious genital cutting, support the non-stun slaughter industry, and promote extremism, hatred and intolerance of other people.
The NSS believes all charities, religious or not, should be held to equally high standards. That's why we campaign for "the advancement of religion" to be removed from the list of charitable purposes, and for religious charities to be held to the same equality laws as all other charities.
Take action!
1. Write to your MP
Tell your MP it's time for "the advancement of religion" to be removed as a charitable purpose. Enter your postcode below to find your MP and send a letter to them.
2. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
3. Join us
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
Website of Islamic charity hosted articles advocating death for gay people and apostates
Posted: Mon, 20 Jul 2015 16:30
Content on the website of the Islamic Network, a registered charity, referred to homosexuality as a "sick disease" and 'legitimised' the killing of gay people.
The website of Islamic Network, which is no longer accessible, hosted articles (posted in 2003 and 2004) on "reasons for shedding" the "blood of a Muslim", which included apostasy, and called for homosexuals to be put to death.
The article on the permissibility of killing other Muslims said "to all those who apostate from [Islam], by whichever method this may occur… it then becomes obligatory on the Muslims to kill him unless he returns to [Islam]."
The posts hosted on the charity's website said it was acceptable to kill another Muslim for adultery, murder and for leaving Islam.
In another post on the website, homosexuality was described as a "perverted sexual behaviour" and an "evil and filthy practice"
The penalty for homosexuality is execution "by being thrown from a great height", the author of the article wrote. The post says that gay people should be "destroyed by fire", pushed from a "great height" and "stoned to death". The latter two punishments have both been used by Islamic State for homosexuality.
An inquiry by the Charity Commission noted that none of the current trustees were in place when the posts were put online, and that when they were made aware of it "they acted immediately to take down the website so it could no longer be viewed."
The trustees then issued a statement which said: "Shortly after joining Islamic Network, in 2013, the chair, introduced clear and unequivocal policies against extremism and hate covering all activities. Since then we have been sifting through website articles uploaded by volunteers and removing those that we consider fall foul of this policy."
Additionally, the inquiry found that while material was hosted on the website, "there was no mechanism in place by the trustees to vet the content before publication."
However, the Charity Commission found that "trustees' were too slow in implementing their policies against extremism and hate and the process of reviewing and sifting existing material was too slow."
Additionally, material was found which "encouraged violence and denigrated particular faiths." The Commission said "this was not appropriate material for a charity to promote and publish" and accused the Islamic Network of a "lack of due diligence" relating to material hosted on their website.
While the material was "historic", and the charity "acted quickly" when alerted to the posts attacking homosexuals and apostates, the "website should have been monitored on a regular basis to ensure that its content was appropriate," the inquiry found, "bearing in mind [Islamic Network's] charitable objects and the trustee's duties."
According to the Charity Commission, the "sole object" of the charity is "the advancement of the Islamic religion."
Religious extremism in Islamic charity is exposed by ITV documentary
Posted: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:01
An ITV documentary has exposed radicalism and anti-Semitism in an Islamic charity with alleged extremist links.
The acting Chief Executive of the charity in question, the Global Aid Trust (GAT) has resigned "in connection with" the documentary, which recorded one guest speaker at a GAT event and a GAT worker endorsing jihad.
The worker was recorded praising hate preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, the now-dead jihadi propagandist and al-Qaeda recruiter. The worker said that al-Awlaki was "a scholar, and basically he was imprisoned, and after he came out of prison he started to incite hatred and telling the western Muslims to bomb. He incited bombings, basically. Bruv, he was a brilliant guy though."
The NSS has repeatedly raised concerns about some religious groups misusing their charitable status.
The Global Aid Trust ran a boat trip where a radical preacher, known as Dawah Man (pictured), was invited to speak, but not given a brief for the discussion. When organisers said he could "freestyle" his remarks, he warned them "I'll say some stuff", adding, "give me guidelines or I'll talk about jihad or something".
Dawah Man then went on to say that Europe and America were "controlled by Zionists", adding that "we can safely say that anytime there was an American or English invasion of the Muslim lands, it's all a problem coming back to the Children of Israel".
The Global Aid Trust have released a statement saying that that they do not "promote any extremist activities or terrorism" and that they have "policies and procedures in place for preventing extremism". The Global Aid Trust says it provides "quality education to underprivileged children" in the developing world.
One of the Global Aid Trust's current campaigns is called "Guardians of Qur'an", which advocates "memorisation of [the] Qur'an in 3 years". The Global Aid Trust is also running a nationwide competition on Quranic recitation to "enhance the love of Allah".
The Charity Commission said: "We are already taking action in relation to a number of concerns raised with us as a result of undercover filming in charities carried out by a TV production company."
The documentary also exposed racism in The Steadfast Trust, which describes itself as "the only charity for the ethnic English". Some of the Trust's supporters were caught chanting "White Power" and "Victory to the Aryan Race", and using far-right slogans from Mein Kampf.
The documentary also filmed a speaker at the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK) charity saying that "to destroy the Hindu history is the secret conspiracy of the Christians".
