On January 10, the Charity Commission announced it will allow an Exclusive Brethren church to register for charitable status after it turned the group down in 2012.
In its previous arguments against the church, the regulator criticised the church’s trustees (Preston Down Trust – PDT) on grounds that the group did not meet the ‘public benefit’ requirement of the Charities Act 2006 and that the trust’s communion services are reserved for members only. PDT will now be able to register as a charity on the condition that its trust deed, a binding document, reflects clearer ‘doctrines and practices’.
Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, also welcomed the news: ‘It’s a victory for religious freedom. They made representations as a third party to the Charity Tribunal, in a bid to protect religious liberty, as the case could have set a dangerous precedent for all churches over how Holy Communion is administered’.
Not Christian?
However, in a public statement, Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose, said: ‘The revelations of the current behaviour of the Exclusive Brethren outlined in this decision [inter alia: severing all ties with family members who leave the Brethren, forbidding former members to attend funerals of relatives, discipline of members which involves physical separation from their family members, exercising such control over all aspects of the life of members which restricts any freedom of choice] should be condemned by all Christians. I want to stress that this religion is not one I recognise as Christian.
‘I am confident that the Commission will regulate the Exclusive Brethren to ensure that their conduct is, in fact, charitable.’
