From: Chris Owen <chriso@lutefisk.OISPAMNOdemon.co.uk>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,alt.clearing.technology
Subject: NEWS: Scientology rejected in UK charity bid!
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 19:52:16 +0000
Message-ID: <W7oi6HAwhAU4EwYN@lutefisk.demon.co.uk>
The Charity Commission (http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk) this
afternoon rejected the Church of Scientology's attempt to become a
registered charity in the UK. The application for charitable status was
submitted just over two years ago and has since been subjected to an
unusually lengthy review. Part of the delay was undoubtedly because the
Commission has received and had to review a great many pro- and anti-
Scientology statements.
Scientology claimed that it promoted "moral or spiritual welfare or
improvement of the community." But the antis have undoubtedly won the
day. Despite taking what it calls "a broad and flexible" view of the
law, the Commission has concluded that Scientology does not operate for
the "public benefit".
The decision does not greatly affect the financial standing of
Scientology in the UK, which in England operates via a tax-exempt South
Australian corporation, COSRECI (Church of Scientology Religious
Education College Incorporated). However, it will be a major blow to
the Church, which has long sought to gain the respectability that comes
with charitable status.
Scientology has already run vitriolic attacks against the Charity
Commission in its magazine "Freedom", arguing that the Commission's
decision not to grant charitable status to a pagan organisation shows it
to have an anti-religious bias. This line will doubtless be repeated
and amplified, and a major "Freedom" campaign is expected. The
Commission may well also face legal action unless Crown Immunity can
somehow be invoked.
To put the Commission's decision in perspective, it normally accepts the
vast majority of applications (currently running at 8,500 per year); it
does not keep consolidated figures for rejections but the total is
believed to be low. The rejection of the bid shows clearly that the
Commission was strongly unconvinced by Scientology's arguments.
[From reportage in the Evening Standard, London, 9 Dec 1999; The
Economist, 3 Dec 1999; Freedom magazine, undated but copyrighted 1998.
Although I'm a civil servant, I have no connection with the Charity
Commission and don't speak for them in any capacity whatsoever.]
--
| Chris Owen - chriso@OISPAMNOlutefisk.demon.co.uk |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
HTML:
Summary document // Full
document
PDF:
Summary
document // Full
document
This page has been webbed by Mike Gormez without consulting Chris Owen.
If you have any comments mail them to mgormez@chello.nl