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
NSS refers Islamic charities to regulator following pro-Taliban lectures
Posted: Mon, 4 Oct 2021 12:52
The National Secular Society has reported two Islamic charities to the regulator after extremist sermons were found on one of the charities' websites.
The NSS reported Miftahul Jannah Academy to the Charity Commission for England and Wales after sermons praising the Taliban, encouraging Muslims to fund jihadists, and referring to the "dirty qualities" of Jews, were found on the charity's website.
The lectures were delivered by Islamic scholar Muhammad Patel.
The Charity Commission is now investigating Miftahul Jannah Academy.
The NSS also referred Masjid-E-Umer Trust, which runs Walthamstow Central Mosque, to the commission after discovering Patel delivers lectures and youth programmes there, according to the charities' websites.
Charity Commission guidance says: "a charity's name, premises or money must not be used to promote extremist or other activities that are inappropriate under charity law".
Pro-jihadist lectures
In one lecture dated September 11 this year, Patel refers to the "amazing victory of the Taliban", saying "Allah gave them victory on the battlefield."
Another lecture from 2019 says that if a Muslim nation "wants to go and fight", rich Muslims should help them buy machine guns and rockets. It also says Muslims should spend extra on "recruitment for jihad".
Patel says if Muslims neglect jihad, they will face "humiliation in front of the kuffar" (non-Muslims).
Antisemitism
Another 2019 lecture is entitled "A quality of the Yahood – to kill those who want to guide them towards the commands of Allah Ta'ala". 'Yahood' is the Arabic word for Jew.
Patel says the killing of Islamic scholars is one of the "wretched" and "dirty" qualities of Jews. He emphasises that "the Quran is universal for all times and all people" in its descriptions of Jews.
In another lecture entitled "The anger of Allah Ta'ala upon the Yahood", Patel says Jews are "not courageous" and that Muslims "don't do anything against them" because they "have become bigger cowards than they are". He says Allah is "angry" with Jews and "turned some of them into apes and monkeys and pigs."
NSS comment
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said: "This is a shocking example of how the charitable purpose of 'the advancement of religion' can be abused by extremists who want to use charities to push jihadism and antisemitism.
"These harmful and hateful sermons were facilitated by a charity system that allows religious fundamentalists to register as charities all too easily.
"The Commission must of course investigate these charities. But much more needs to be done to stop religious extremists exploiting our charitable sector – and that must mean a re-think of letting institutions register as charities simply because they advance religion."
Notes
- Miftahul Jannah Academy is registered in Waltham Forest, London. Its website says its aims and objectives include "to further the true image of Islam".
- Masjid-e-Umer Trust is also registered in Waltham Forest. Its charitable objects include "The advancement of the religion of Islam in accordance with the tenets and doctrines of the Hanafi Sunni sect of Islam".
NSS welcomes ruling on Christian foster agency case
Posted: Fri, 24 Sep 2021 16:44
The National Secular Society has welcomed a judgment upholding a ruling that a Christian fostering agency cannot reject same-sex couples.
The Court of Appeal today upheld a previous ruling that inspectors were correct to penalise Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service for failing to comply with the Equality Act 2010.
Ofsted, which inspects childcare, adoption and fostering agencies, downgraded Cornerstone from "good" to "requires improvement" in 2019 because the charity requires carers "to refrain from homosexual conduct".
In 2020 Justice Julian Knowles ruled this policy unlawful. He said the law "requires Cornerstone to accept gay men and lesbian women as potential foster carers".
Exemptions in the Equality Act which allow religious organisations to discriminate against gay people in some circumstances do not apply because Cornerstone performs functions on behalf of public authorities, the judge said.
Cornerstone appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal in June.
Judge's comments
Cornerstone's representatives claimed the initial ruling was incorrect, because it was "contradictory" to allow the agency to only accept evangelical Christian parents as carers but to prevent them from discriminating against carers that engage in "sexual conduct outside the bonds of a Christian marriage."
But Lord Justice Peter Jackson of the Court of Appeal said the "difficulty" with this logic is that it "equates religious discrimination with sexual orientation discrimination in all circumstances when that is something that Parliament has not done".
He said Justice Knowles "was not obliged to adopt Cornerstone's doctrinal definition of evangelical Christians so as to find that gay and lesbian evangelical Christians are not merely unidentified but non-existent".
That would be "to substitute the precepts of the faith for the reality," he said.
He added: "If gay evangelical Christians wishing to foster are few and far between, it is no doubt to some extent because of those precepts, and not because people like that do not exist."
Speaking of the importance of the Equality Act, he said it "must be recognised that religious doctrine does not stand still" and that the law "is entitled to have regard to the rights of those who might wish to be free of a discriminatory practice currently endorsed by their faith."
In his concluding remarks, he said because of the "detrimental impact on society and on individuals" of discrimination against gay people, we should be "slow to accept that prohibiting fostering agencies from discriminating against homosexuals is a disproportionate limitation on their right to manifest their religion."
NSS reaction
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said the ruling was "a welcome affirmation of LGBT+ equality."
She said: "We are relieved that the Court of Appeal has upheld the previous ruling: that religion cannot be used by foster agencies to justify discrimination against same-sex couples.
"As the judge said, discriminating against people because of who they love is detrimental to individuals and to society. For this reason, religious fundamentalism must not be allowed to trump equality law."
About Cornerstone
Cornerstone is an evangelical Christian registered charity which says it provides an "adoption and fostering child care service according to Christian principles". It is funded primarily from payments made by local authorities when they place a child for fostering.
Its policy for foster carers stipulates they must attend church regularly, and avoid "all sexual sins" including cohabitation and "wilful violation of your birth sex", in addition to "homosexual behaviour".
Freedom of Information requests made by the NSS in 2020 revealed that Sunderland City Council made 33 referrals to Cornerstone between 2015 and April 2020. They had two foster placements with Cornerstone. Northumberland County Council made 30 referrals.
The NSS also found Durham County Council gave Cornerstone a total of £17,294 in 2017-18.
