Jedi Order Denied Charitable Status for Advancement of Religion

by Dev User | May 25, 2017 | Expertise, Faith-Based Organizations

On December 19, 2016, the Charity Commission for England and Wales (the “Commission”) published its decision to reject an application for charitable registration by The Temple of the Jedi Order (“Jedi Order”). The application was made, in part, on the basis that Jediism is a religion. In its application, the Jedi Order cited its charitable purpose as “to advance the religion of Jediism, for the public benefit worldwide, in accordance with the Jedi Doctrine”. In England and Wales, advancement of religion is described as a charitable purpose in section 3(1)(c) of the Charities Act, 2011 and religion is partially defined in section 3(2) of the Act as including i) a religion which involves belief in more than one god, and ii) a religion which does not involve belief in a god. However, the Charities Act, 2011 also preserved the common law meaning of religion for the purposes of charity law subject to the partial definition in section 3(2). It is the Commission’s treatment of the common law that is of particular interest to Canadian religious organizations, as there is no corresponding statutory definition of religion in Canada. The decision also sets out the elements of the charitable purpose of promoting moral or ethical improvement.

For the balance of this Bulletin, please see Church Law Bulletin No. 49.