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 urges regulator to investigate charity behind notorious monk-brewed booze
Posted: Tue, 11 Apr 2017 10:15
The National Secular Society has written to the Charity Commission urging it to investigate a religious charity behind the sale of an alcoholic drink widely associated with criminal activity in Scotland.
Buckfast Abbey Trust made £8.8 million in the past year, largely through the sale of the controversial tonic wine Buckfast, colloquially known as "Wreck the Hoose Juice" and "Commotion Lotion" in parts of Scotland.
Buckfast Abbey does not pay tax on its income from the wine because it is a charity. The NSS argues that this amounts to an "abuse of the charitable system".
The drink has been associated with violence and other anti-social behaviour in the area east of Glasgow and multiple attempts have been made by the Scottish authorities to limit sale of the drink. In 2015, the Scottish Prison Service found that 43.4% of inmates had consumed Buckfast before their last offence.
The trust justifies its existence as a charity in its annual report, stating its aim is the "advancement of the Roman Catholic religion".
In a letter to the Commission, the National Secular Society says the charity's activities "fall short of the requirement to act in the Public's Benefit".
Stephen Evans, NSS campaigns director, commented: "Charitable status and the accompanying tax benefits should only be granted to organisations that deliver a demonstrable public benefit. In the case of Buckfast Abbey, the social harm caused appears to outweigh any public good. Where this happens, or where the good is simply not good enough, public confidence in supporting charities risks being undermined".
The NSS has also raised concerns about the charity and associated companies being run for "considerable private benefit running to millions of pounds a year". In 2016, the charity's trading arm, J Chandler (Buckfast) Ltd, employed just 28 people yet paid an average of £144,984 to each person. Directors fees exceeded £2.5million in 2013. Directors and past directors include those described in formal documents as ministers of religion.
NSS research, passed on to the Charity Commission, also reveals another possible source of private gain for staff and fellow colleagues of the charity trustees in the form of property loans and developments.
A further concern relates to the excessive retention of reserves, which is heavily discouraged by the Charity Commission so that funds are used for the intended charitable purposes. Buckfast and an associated company have reserves totalling around £87 million, a figure described by secularists as "excessive".
In its letter to the Commission, the NSS said: "Excessive director pay, commercial loans to companies run by religious colleagues and charity staff allowed to profit privately from property investments all point to an abuse of the charity system."
Until 2006 the public benefit of religious organisations was automatically presumed by the law. The Charities Act 2006 removed the presumption of public benefit from religious charities and now requires every charity to explicitly demonstrate that their purposes are for the public benefit.
The Charity Commission's guidance on 'the advancement of religion for the public benefit' is currently under review.
Government should relax small gifts charity rule to help secular charities
Posted: Mon, 4 Jul 2016 09:52
The National Secular Society has called on the Government to reform a charity aid scheme to ensure that all charities, including secular ones, can access the scheme and benefit equally.
Charities with community buildings such as village halls or religious buildings can claim under the scheme but only if they do not charge for entry. This means churches who derive their income from collections can benefit, but community groups such as Scouts and Guides cannot, as they charge, often much less than the amount congregants pay.
The Gift Aid Small Donations scheme (GASDS) is designed to "support the charity sector by providing top-up payments in circumstances where it would not be feasible or practical to obtain a Gift Aid declaration."
The Government has cited "bucket collections or church plate collections" as examples of where charities could "claim Gift Aid style top-up payments" of 25% on up to £8,000 of small cash donations. The Church of England alone has 16,000 churches which are able to claim under the scheme.
The Government held a consultation on the scheme, and the National Secular Society met with HM Revenue and Customs to express its concerns that the scheme disproportionately benefits religious charities and has proposed reform to open up the scheme's benefits to secular groups.
Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "The rules disadvantage secular charities over religious ones as they don't charge for entry. There is normally a religious obligation to contribute, and collection plates are circulated. The average Church of England cash contribution is over £7 per week.
"There should be some relaxation of this criterion, so that secular community groups based in buildings that charge for their services, often just sufficient to cover their costs, can also make use of this scheme as the churches currently do so lucratively.
"Many worthy community action groups who are not religious and much less wealthy than the churches have no option but to charge for their services, often quite meagre amounts seeking only to cover costs
"We want secular charities to be able to benefit in the same way as churches do from this scheme."
