Editorial: Are Canadian religious charities at risk?
In December 2024, Canada’s (or the Canadian government’s) Standing Committee on Finance issued a report with 462 recommendations. Item 430 recommends Canada “amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.” Currently, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides four options from which an organization can select one to describe itself: relief of poverty, advancement of religion, advancement of education, and other purposes beneficial to the community.
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), Canada’s charitable and non-profit sector is the second largest in the world (www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Get-involved/Support-the-EFC/Appeal-letters/2025/Churches-and-Charitable-Status). Of the more than 73,000 charitable organizations registered with the CRA, about 40% advance religion. Should this proposed recommendation be adopted by the current government, it could have profound effects on the ability of religious charities to contribute to the good of their communities.
A recent report from Cardus (www.cardus.ca/research/spirited-citizenship/reports/why-religious-tax-exemptions-benefit-all-canadians) estimates that the socio-economic contribution of religious charities to Canada is about $16.5 billion annually. That is, for every dollar a typical Canadian congregation spends, the local community receives $3.39 in socio-economic benefit, on average. In contrast, the “cost” to Canadians of tax exemptions in 2019 was about $3 billion. Clearly, a cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that communities receive much more benefit from their local religious organizations than it costs them.
Why, then, the disconnect between the good that religious charities actually do, and public perception? A Narrative Research poll in 2022 found that 35% of Canadians thought churches should lose their charitable status, while 37% thought they should keep it (the rest were indifferent). So, when faced with a possible loss of charitable status, what’s a church to do?
One option is advocacy. Both the EFC and the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC) have already written to the Finance Minister objecting to the recommendation. Church members can also write to their local Member of Parliament in support of advancing religion as a charitable purpose. EFC has a sample letter at evangelicalfellowship.ca/protect-charitable.
Another option is better, more intentional community on what religious organization actually provide to their communities—benefits that would be curtailed by a loss of charitable status. It may be time for more “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16) and less don’t “let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). And if some Canadians think “religious congregations are essentially clubs, primarily benefiting their own members” (Cardus report), we may need to ask ourselves if there is any truth to this.
A third option is to prepare for the possible loss of charitable status. With the secularization of society, perhaps this shift is inevitable. There are signs of hope, however. In the poll mentioned above, the strongest support for charitable status of religious organizations was among young people.
Whatever option we choose, above all let’s ensure that we glorify God and gain the respect of accusers by living honorably as Peter instructs (1 Peter 2:12) and give generously as God enables—regardless of whether we are rewarded with a donation receipt.
Currently, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides four options from which an organization can select one to describe itself: relief of poverty, advancement of religion, advancement of education, and other purposes beneficial to the community.
