Sir, – I am surprised that the charitable status of religion has not received greater scrutiny in the Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023, currently in progress through Dáil Éireann.
Under the current (2009) Charities Act acceptable charitable purposes include “the advancement of religion” which implies, according to the Charities regulator, that religious organisations (presumably those that are accepted as such by the State) are entitled to be “automatically considered to be charities under the Charities Act”.
Why? More importantly, why should the taxpayer fund this charitable purpose, a historical oddity under which 1,590 charities benefited in 2021/22 (Charities Regulator, 2023)?
The proposed changes in the amendment appears to acknowledge that religion can be divisive by including an additional charitable purpose, “the promotion of religious or racial harmony”, although this does not depend on any religion having charitable status. All religions are divisive to some extent, and some have questionable beliefs and activities that most certainly do not promote harmony and are not amenable to change by social pressure, even if this is funded through charitable activities.
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However, a more stringent requirement for religions to qualify under the “the advancement of religion” banner would be difficult to implement; it is neither desirable nor practical to have the State adjudicate on the merits of a religion or its capacity to improve society. As our multi-faith society continues to develop, accommodating more religious groups, I suggest that the amendment should remove this charitable purpose and not promote the advancement of any religion. – Yours, etc,
HARRY McGRATH,
Barntown,
Co Wexford.
