Canada, like most countries, treat charities very favourably, granting them many privileges and tax breaks not available to other organizations. To register as a charity with Canada Revenue Agency, it must declare one of four charitable purposes:
- Advancement of Education
- Relief of Poverty
- Advancement of Religion
- Other Purposes Beneficial to the Community
Among its findings:
- Over 30,000 organizations that exist to advance religion have been granted registered charitable status in Canada.
- Religious charities in Canada are overwhelmingly Christian (more than 80%).
- Over the decades, religious charities have accumulated nearly $48 billion in assets and have a net worth of over $38 billion.
As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs - Johann Tetzel
ReplyDeleteSorry, Leslie, I really don't find this compelling. There are certainly a lot of other registered charities that many people would not agree with (for instance, progressive organizations that conservative folks disagree with, or vice-versa, that aren't registered under religion). So why single out religion as not being appropriate for charitable purposes because it doesn't align with some folks' values or beliefs (atheists etc.)? I think a more appropriate approach would be to deny charitable status to organizations that break or urge breaking human rights codes, which would be some of the offensive religious groups. Campaigning to get rid of charitable status on the grounds of religion entirely is doomed to fail, far too many people are religious for this to happen. (Full disclosure: as you probably remember, I'm an atheist Quaker, and the Quaker Meeting I belong to is a registered charity on the grounds of religion.)
ReplyDeleteHello, Dan.
DeleteConservative and progressive groups that seek to further their own agenda exist as think tanks, non-profits, or lobbying organizations. They are not charities (nor should they be, no matter how worthy their goals).
I'm not against religious organizations existing. I do not think that a religious institution that solely pursues advancement of religion should be deemed charitable. Most could easily be chartered as a non-profit, which would be entirely appropriate. Should a secular, progressive, conservative, religious, or other group alleviate the suffering of others, I have no objection to it being granted charitable status.
As far as the campaign being "doomed to fail": you may be right, but we'll never know unless we try. But more importantly, fighting for what is right should not depend on guaranteed success. The only way things improve is through people making the effort.