Questioning the ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose

Editor’s note: If you would like to submit a letter for possible publication, please email it to editor@rationalist.com.au. See our Publishing Guideline   Dear Editor, The UK’s National Secular Society is in the throes of pointing out the absurdity of religious charity laws that allow organisations that exist to promote creationism to be tax exempt because the ‘advancement of religion’ is listed as a legitimate “charitable purpose” that provides “genuine public benefit”. There is a simple and incontrovertible argument confirming the illogicality and, therefore, absurdity of this state of affairs. No consumer protection body in the world would allow 4,000 different paint manufacturers to all claim boldly, and with no evidence, that their paint will last twice as long as all of the others, or even that the other paints aren’t real paint.  All but one have to be either lying or delusional, and the one that is not would be expected to provide some supporting evidence behind their claim of superiority. The 4,000+ religions of the world all contradict each other on such critical issues as the nature of reality, the existence of supernatural beings, and how best each person can reach Heaven, or achieve Nirvana, or reincarnate most successfully, and suchlike.  Logically, the maximum number that are not lying or delusional must be: one. In fact the religious scam issue is more ethically and legally fraught than the paint supply one because it is very possible that none of the rel...