'The Status of Religion and the Public Benefit in Charity Law' is an apologetic for maintaining the presumption of public benefit for the charitable category ‘advancement of religion’ in democratic countries within the English common law tradition. In response to growing academic and political pressure to reform charity law – including recurring calls to remove tax exemptions granted to religious charities – the scholars in this volume analyse the implications of legislative and legal developments in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In the process, they also confront more fundamental, sociological or philosophical questions on the very nature and role of religion in a secular society that would deny any space for religious communities outside their houses of worship. In other words, this book is concerned with the place of religion – and religious institutions – in contemporary society. It represents a series of concerns about the proper role of the state in relation to the differing beliefs of citizens – some of which will quite rightly manifest in actions to benefit the wider society. This debate, then, naturally engages with broader issues related to secularism, civic engagement and liberal democratic freedoms.
Acknowledgements; Preface; Table of Cases; Part I Concept and Practice of Public Benefit; Chapter One Have a Little Faith: The Advancement of Religion and Public Benefit, Juliet Chevalier- Watts; Chapter Two Religion and Public Benefit: Social Scientific Perspectives and Critiques, Raymond B. Chiu; Chapter Three The Public Benefi t of ‘Advancing Religion’ as a Charitable Purpose: A Canadian Perspective, John Pellowe; Part II Advancement of Religion in the United Kingdom; Chapter Four Religion and Public Benefit in United Kingdom Charity Law, Frank Cranmer; Chapter Five Back at the Bar: Charity Law, Public Benefit, and a Case of Legal déjà vu for the Exclusive Brethren, Bernard Doherty; Part III Public Benefi t and the Advancement of Religion in Canada; Chapter Six Advancing Religion in a ‘Neutral’ State: Understanding Religion as a Constitutional Good, Derek B.M. Ross and Ian N. Sinke; Chapter Seven Making Registered Charitable Status of Religious Organizations Subject to ‘Charter Values’, Barry W. Bussey; Chapter Eight Just Check the Box: Why Religious Institutions Still Make Canada a Better Place to Live and Flourish, Janet Epp Buckingham; Part IV Conclusion; Chapter Nine The Goal of Excluding Religion from the Idea of Public Benefit: Some Aspects of Neo- Secularist Strategies, Iain T. Benson; Contributors; Index.
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