There is horrible news coming out of Kenya where a Christian religious cult told followers they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. About 89 bodies have so far been recovered.
While this particular event may be particularly jarring, I wish that bad behaviour of religious charities was an isolated event, but it is not.
This, and many other examples, show that although religion can in some cases have positive benefits in society, it can also cause tremendous harm. The same applies to Canadian religious organizations for example largely responsible for Residential Schools and other types of child abuse.
If you look just at neighbouring Uganda and the way religious groups are trying to persecute LGBTQ people, there are many current examples of people who call themselves Christian promoting hatred and bigotry.
One may think that what happens in Kenya and Uganda has nothing to do with Canada and the US. However, it has been shown in some circumstances, some of the most extreme religious behaviour has been supported by US and Canadian charities. So, taxpayers in the US and Canada are subsidizing some awful behaviour around the world. Journalists and others should be paying attention not only to the positive work done by religious organizations but also the harm that they cause. And, yes, some journalists do that but it is few and far between.
In addition, the Federal government and CRA should be looking closely at religious charities that are operating inappropriately. Unfortunately, the Liberal government still refuses to release CRA guidance on advancement of religion which was finished around 2016. This is not helpful for religious registered charities in Canada wanting to understand their regulatory requirements. Here is our blog Another version of CRA’s guidance on advancement of religion released in an access to information request.