Report demands "advancement of religion" is scrapped as a charitable purpose
Scotland’s charity regulator has come under fire for allegedly failing to take action against charities which promote misogyny.
A major new report says that OSCR has refused to act against religious groups who espouse violence against and the subjugation of women.
The claim was made by the National Secular Society (NSS) as it published its Mission and Misogyny study which argues for governments in the UK to scrap “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose.
NSS warns that warning that this “enables the promotion of misogynistic religious doctrine”.
The report criticises the role of regulators on both sides of the border, saying they have been "ineffective” at preventing the promotion of misogyny in the sector.
In Scotland, it is claimed that OSCR has repeatedly refused to penalise religious charities promoting misogyny.
The NSS reported Moray Coast Baptist Church to OSCR in 2022 over a sermon which said the "primary function" of a woman is "to be married, to have children, and to tend to household affairs – the cooking, the cleaning, the washing up".
It also referred Rosyth Baptist Church to OSCR last year after its pastor said a wife “that submits to her husband’s leadership” is “easier to love”.
In both cases, NSS says OSCR refused to intervene, giving the reason that the views expressed “are likely to be held by virtue of a manifestation of a religious belief”.
The report also highlights cases in England, where the Charity Commission is the regulator.
In one example, a preacher at An-Noor Masjid in Birmingham said in a sermon last year that a man can “hit” his wife if she refuses to have sex.
The Charity Commission responded by giving the charity “advice and guidance” but apparently took no further action.
The preacher then went on to give sermons at another local Islamic charity, Green Lane Masjid – which had also previously been given “advice and guidance” from the commission after an imam at the charity said a wife cannot refuse sex.
Other charities have published or signposted material saying a woman must not leave her house without covering her entire body apart from her eyes; women wear trousers because of the “spirit of whoredom”; and “female circumcision” (FGM) has “medical benefits”.
All forms of FGM are illegal in the UK and the NHS says it has “no health benefits”.
The report also highlighted how Islamic and Jewish religious ‘courts’ are “typically patriarchal” and frequently discriminate against women. Some religious courts have condoned or enabled violence against women, forced marriage and sexual abuse, the NSS said.
Many religious ‘courts’ operate as registered charities or are funded by charities.
The report highlighted how many charities promoting misogyny have received public funding through gift aid, government grants or government contracts.
All charities in the report are registered under “the advancement of religion”. The NSS warned this charitable purpose is enabling charities to promote misogyny with impunity, and called for it to be reviewed “with a view to its removal”.
It also called for all organisations promoting misogyny to have their charitable status revoked.
Ther NSS said this chimes with the Scottish Government’s stated aims which are to “prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls and the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it”.
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson, who authored the report, said: “Our research has found a serious and widespread issue of religious charities promoting, condoning or signposting various forms of misogyny.
“In every case, religion is cited to justify the misogyny. While religious groups should be free to advance their faith, their charitable status gives them access to extensive tax benefits, which in these cases amounts to indirect state support of misogyny through public money.
“Yet charity regulators appear unable to tackle this – and we can conclude that the presence of ‘the advancement of religion’ in the list of recognised charitable purposes is a principal barrier.
“Government’s initiatives to tackle misogyny are welcome – but they are doomed to fail if we cannot root out misogyny from the charity sector.
“We urge governments and the charity regulators to ensure no organisation which promotes sexism, discrimination or violence against women can become a charity. When it comes to misogyny in society, the charity sector must no longer be a culprit.”
A spokesperson for OSCR said: “OSCR is required to work within the law as it is set out by parliament, and advancement of religion is a charitable purpose under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.
“Where OSCR has evidence that a charity’s expression of religious views either breaches the law or has the clear and direct effect of harming others, OSCR will consider if the charity still meets the charity test or if any of the charity trustees are guilty of misconduct.
“In considering whether expressions of religious views may potentially breach the law, we are also required take into account the specific legal protections the expression of religious beliefs have under the relevant sections of equalities law.”
