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
Tackle charities promoting ‘conversion therapy’, NSS urges minister
Posted: Wed, 10 Jun 2020 13:21
The National Secular Society has urged the government to consider the role of charities promoting anti-gay 'conversion therapy' as it looks into ways to end the practice.
Last week it was revealed that more than 100,000 people had signed a petition calling for the end of 'conversion therapy' – enough to trigger a debate in parliament.
And in response the government said it would "consider all options for ending the practice".
In a letter to the equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, the NSS expressed support for government efforts to end 'conversion therapy' and urged it to consider charity law's role in perpetuating the practice.
Charities of concern
Examples of charities which have promoted anti-gay 'therapies' include:
- Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, which was revealed to be practising a form of 'conversion therapy' involving a three-day starvation programme by a Liverpool Echo investigation in 2017.
- Winners Chapel International, where a pastor was found offering "complete mind reorientation" for gay people during a 2018 investigation by ITV News.
- Core Issues Trust, which advocates "change orientated therapy" for people "seeking to leave homosexual behaviours and feelings". The NSS recently raised the trust's charitable status with Northern Ireland's charity regulator and executive.
All these organisations have a Christian ethos and are registered as charities on the basis that they advance religion.
NSS letter
The NSS's letter said ensuring no organisation promoting 'conversion therapy' is granted charitable status would be "a positive and tangible step" towards ending the practice.
The society also expressed concern that the legal provision enabling organisations to register as charities because they advance religion enabled some organisations which promote harmful practices to escape scrutiny.
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans wrote: "It is somewhat absurd that our nation should continue giving organisations promoting conversion therapy the benefits of charitable status on the one hand, while seeking to end conversion therapy on the other."
NSS comment
Explaining the letter, Mr Evans said: "Reviewing the charitable status of organisations that promote conversion therapy would be an obvious place to start the work of tackling the harms it causes.
"Charitable status brings tax breaks and recognition that an organisation is serving a public benefit. Those promoting harmful and widely discredited therapies which encourage people to change or suppress their sexuality should have that status revoked.
"And the law should change so charities promoting harmful practices can no longer hide behind the argument that they are advancing religion."
Charities and public benefit
- Organisations which register as charities are required to serve a public benefit. The Charities Act of 2011 outlines a series 'charitable purposes' which charities can register under, one of which is 'the advancement of religion'.
- In a 2018 report the NSS argued that 'the advancement of religion' should be removed as a charitable purpose.
Government commitment to ending 'conversion therapy'
- The government said it would bring forward proposals to end the practice of LGBT 'conversion therapy' in the UK in 2018. In January this year it said it was still committed to doing so.
Conversion therapy: the harm caused
- A 2014 consensus statement from the UK Council for Psychotherapy concluded that 'conversion therapy' was harmful. In 2017 major counselling and psychotherapy bodies from across the UK committed to ending 'conversion therapy'.
- According to the Ozanne Foundation's 2018 National Faith & Sexuality Survey, well over half of respondents who had attempted to change their sexual orientation had suffered from mental health issues as a result. Around 40% of those who had suffered mental health issues had self-harmed.
Note:
An earlier version of this article mentioned the role of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE), which donated £500 to a conference where speakers addressed the issue of homosexuality in a Christian context in 2009.
CARE has said it didn't co-organise this event or attend it, and it only "learned after the event that the subject of 'unwanted same sex attraction' also known as 'gay cure' was discussed".
A spokesperson for CARE has told the NSS it "does not support conversion therapy, has never lobbied for it and never will". We're happy to publish this clarification.
Regulator opens inquiry into charity which has promoted extremism
Posted: Mon, 18 May 2020 14:31
The National Secular Society has welcomed a charity regulator's decision to open a statutory inquiry into a charity which has promoted Islamist extremism by funding a TV channel.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales announced that it had opened an inquiry into Islamic Research Foundation International (IRFI) in a press release on Friday.
IRFI, whose charitable purposes include the advancement of the Islamic faith, is being investigated over its funding of the channel Peace TV.
The broadcasting regulator Ofcom revoked the licence of Peace TV Urdu's broadcaster, Club TV, last year after it found the channel had "repeatedly rebroadcast" material that incited murder.
Earlier this month Ofcom also fined Peace TV's former broadcasters £300,000 for breaches of its broadcasting code.
NSS involvement
In 2018 the NSS raised concerns with the commission that Peace TV and one of its speakers – Dr Zakir Naik (pictured), who was also a trustee of IRFI – had promoted extremist views.
Last year an NSS freedom of information request revealed that this was one of five complaints about IRFI that had been submitted to the commission since 2010.
NSS reaction
NSS campaigns officer Megan Manson said the decision to open the inquiry was "very welcome".
"IRFI's funding of Peace TV has helped to enable Islamist extremists to push deeply intolerant messages to substantial audiences. There's a clear case that this charity isn't serving a public benefit and so doesn't deserve the tax breaks and official recognition which charitable status brings.
"The fact IRFI has been able to operate as a charity for so long is also a sign that charity law is too deferential to religion. Removing 'the advancement of religion' as a charitable purpose would make it harder for organisations such as IRFI to register and help to restore public confidence in the charitable sector."
In March 2019 the NSS's report For the public benefit? called for reform of charity law so 'the advancement of religion' was no longer a charitable purpose. The report highlighted concerns about IRFI (see pages 32-33).
Peace TV's record
- Ofcom reprimanded Peace TV in 2012 after Naik said he "tended to agree" that Muslims should be executed if they leave Islam and tried to proselytise a different religion "against Islam".
- In 2016 the channel was fined £65,000 after another speaker used deeply derogatory terms to describe Jews.
- Other speakers who have broadcast on Peace TV include Bilal Philips, who the US has named as a co-conspirator in the 9/11 attacks.
- In 2018 Ofcom said it was pursuing six investigations against Peace TV, relating to shows with titles including Media and Islam — War or Peace? and Valley of the Homosexuals.
Zakir Naik
- Naik has previously praised Osama bin Laden and said all Muslims "should be terrorists".
- In December the Charity Commission revealed that it had attempted to disqualify Naik, who is barred from entering the UK, as a trustee of IRFI.
UPDATE (8 June 2020):
The NSS has again urged the government to remove 'the advancement of religion' as a charitable purpose after a minister responded to an MP who raised the issue, and IRFI's status specifically.
The NSS has written to the parliamentary under-secretary for civil society, Diana Barran, after she said there was "no presumption that a particular charitable purpose is for the public benefit" in a letter to Conservative MP Laurence Robertson.
In response the NSS highlighted the findings of its 2019 report.
The society wrote: "Our recent findings suggest that there is an underlying assumption that advancing religion is for the public benefit, and as a result, too many charities that do not serve a public benefit are registered under the charitable purpose of 'the advancement of religion'."
Image: Dr Zakir Naik, via Wikimedia Commons, © Maapu [CC BY-2.0] (cropped)
