OSCR said the church’s main offices were outside of Scotland.
Concerns about a Scottish church that carried out “exorcisms” for homosexuality have been passed between Scotland’s charity regulators and their counterparts in England.
An investigation into the actions of Forward In Faith Church International Incorporated - which operates in Rosyth - was prompted after a complaint was made by the National Secular Society (NSS) to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
NSS said it had worries about Scottish charity law and how it deems “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose in its own right.
The church’s website in 2017 noted details of an “exorcism” carried out after his possession by a “homosexual spirit”, which freed him following a “miracle”.
OSCR said following investigations that the church met its charity test, and that any future investigations should be carried out by the Charity Commission as the church’s main office is in England.
In an email reported in The National, the Charity Commission made it clear it had no concerns about the church operating in the UK and said there was “no evidence” in the blog post in 2017 that “the charity was advocating a particular position on homosexuality”.
It added it had “not identified any current content or articles of concern on the charity’s website” and would not be taking any action.
Fraser Sutherland, CEO of Humanist Society Scotland, told The National: “It's disappointing to hear that OSCR have decided to opt out of looking into serious concerns regarding a charity on the basis of a cross-Border technicality.
"That the regulator admits it has a duty to look at activities that directly harm others but refuses to even look into concerns of gay exorcisms is in our view a failure to uphold their own priorities.
"As is too often the case it would appear that faith-based charities are given a free pass when in comes to regulatory oversight.”
Dr Alejandro Sanchez, human rights lead at the NSS, told The National: “The Charity Commission has claimed celebrating the ‘miracle’ of exorcising a gay man from a ‘homosexual spirit’ is not advocating a particular position on homosexuality.
“This is wilful blindness. The idea that spiritual possession causes homosexuality is a central tenet of gay conversion therapy, which we know is harmful and doesn’t work.
“The first step in combatting religiously inspired homophobia in the third sector is acknowledging its existence. In this case, the commission appears unwilling or unable to do so.”
An OSCR spokesperson told The National: “As stated in our response to the NSS, the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW) are the lead regulator for Forward In Faith Church International Incorporated.
“Our Memorandum of Understanding with CCEW allows them to take the lead on any investigations into charities which operate in both England and Scotland. If at the end of that investigation they were to find serious and substantial issues which required regulatory action against the charity, OSCR would work with CCEW to ensure that fair and proportionate action was taken against the charity, according to the law.
“In general terms, we cannot intervene in the activities of religious charities seeking to promote their religious beliefs unless their activities have the clear and direct effect of harming others or otherwise breach the law.’
The Charity Commission told The National: “We have carefully considered concerns raised about Forward in Faith Church International Incorporated. Some of the concerning practices reported on relate to organisations based abroad, beyond our jurisdiction.
“We have carefully reviewed materials posted on the UK charity’s website, and have concluded that there is no role for the commission at this time. As always, we will consider any new information or evidence shared with us. In the meantime, the charity’s trustees must ensure that they run the charity in line with charity law and wider legislation.”
