{"id":26433,"date":"2017-10-26T17:17:05","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T21:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=26433"},"modified":"2017-10-27T16:10:49","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T20:10:49","slug":"cra-draft-advancement-of-religion-guidance-released-by-access-to-information-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2017\/10\/26\/cra-draft-advancement-of-religion-guidance-released-by-access-to-information-request\/","title":{"rendered":"CRA Draft Advancement of Religion Guidance Released by Access to Information Request"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Authored by Philip A.S. Milley, Associate Director, Legal Affairs\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For over thirteen years, the Canada Revenue Agency (&#8220;CRA&#8221;) policy on the advancement of religion has not been updated. Over the past number of years, there has been a concern that the scope of this charitable head might be narrowed, and we are aware that some para-church organizations have faced difficulty in obtaining charitable registration. Over these thirteen years, many organizations, including the CCCC, have participated in consultations on guidelines concerning the advancement of religion. Since these consultations, the religious sector has been waiting for the release of a new or updated guidance<\/p>\n<p>On October 24, 2017, lawyer Mark Blumberg, by way of an access to information request, obtained a copy of CRA&#8217;s draft guidance on the advancement of religion and charitable registration. You can access a copy of the disclosure on Blumberg&#8217;s website,\u00a0globalphilantropy.ca,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalphilanthropy.ca\/blog\/cras_draft_guidance_advancement_of_religion_and_charitable_registration_is\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CRA Policy Guideline Generally<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CRA policy guidance represents CRA&#8217;s interpretation of the law as it relates to charities. The CRA policy guidance is, in large part, internal guidance for CRA on how it will apply the law to charities. However, CRA policy also plays a significant role in communicating the rules, standards, thresholds, and expectations that CRA has of registered charities. The recent publication by Blumberg is of great significance to the religious charitable sector.\u00a0Without a clear communication of the rules under which charities are expected to operate, confusion and the expenditure of unnecessary time and expense are likely to occur.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Draft Guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The guidelines released by the access to information request are only draft guidelines. This internal document is presumably being applied to charitable regulations and religious charities. While\u00a0this policy may be currently applied CRA, we await the release of a finalized version of this guidance to confirm the\u00a0standards to which CRA expects charities to comply.<\/p>\n<div>The 36-page draft guidelines relate to the registration of charities under the head of the advancement of religion and cover\u00a0several topics that prospective charities will find of note including:<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>eligibility for registration;<\/li>\n<li>the meaning of religion;<\/li>\n<li>purposes and activities that advance religion, including examples; and<\/li>\n<li>other topics such as advancing religion through a narrow focus, religious retreats, regional or national organizations, and the production and distribution of religious publications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>The draft policy does not define or regulate religion but relates solely to CRA decisions regarding eligibility. According to this draft policy, to be eligible for charitable registration, an application should clearly indicate purposes that identify:<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>the religion that is intended to be advanced;<\/li>\n<li>the means of advancing that religion; and<\/li>\n<li>the intended beneficiaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>In addition to the purposes, only activities that directly further an advancement of religious purpose are permissible, as the policy indicates, not all activities conducted\u00a0in the name of religion advance religion in the charitable sense. As such, permissible activities are those that<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>are clearly and materially connected to the religion&#8217;s teachings, doctrines, or observances; and<\/li>\n<li>constitute a targeted attempt to manifest, promote, sustain, or increase<br \/>\nbelief in the religion to or by adherents or the public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For purposes of registration, CRA states that the elements required by a religion for registration include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a doctrine that there is a God(s) or Supreme Being(s);<\/li>\n<li>a doctrine that adherents worship or revere the Supreme Being(s); and<\/li>\n<li>a particular and comprehensive system of faith and worship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>The draft policy also addresses a common concern relating to activities carried on by a religious charity that also further other charitable purposes. The draft policy indicates that such activities will be considered to be advancing religion if the proposed charity can demonstrate that<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>all the requirements of the other charitable category are met (i.e., advancement of education, relief of poverty, or other benefits the community)<\/li>\n<li>the activities are\u00a0clearly and materially connected to the religious teachings, doctrines, or observations of the religion being advanced; and<\/li>\n<li>the activities are capable of being linked by the public to the religion being advanced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>Notable portions of the policy include the discussion related to purposes and activities. As these are common areas of difficulty for charities, the draft policy indicates that purposes that advance religion should identify the particular religion being advanced, the means of advancing that religion, and the eligible beneficiaries of the purpose.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><strong>What this Means for Charities\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This draft guidance is similar in content to the draft guidance\u00a0released by CRA in 2009. However, the readability of this guidance has been significantly improved, in that the question and answer format have been removed from the document.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Additionally, several important changes have occurred to the content of the guidance. First, the draft guidance includes a more comprehensive\u00a0section on the advancement of other charitable purposes.\u00a0 CRA has included as a requirement that the public must be able to link the activity being carried out to the religion being advanced for it to be considered permissible. A further addition to the guidance is a clear statement regarding what constitutes permissible purposes and activities.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Charities that are seeking registration or to amend their objects and activities should consult these guidelines with the understanding that they may be applicable to their application. Until a new finalized policy is published, charities should consult legal counsel to help navigate the processes related to registration.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authored by Philip A.S. Milley, Associate Director, Legal Affairs\u00a0 For over thirteen years, the Canada Revenue Agency (&#8220;CRA&#8221;) policy on the advancement of religion has not been updated. Over the past number of years, there has been a concern that the scope of this charitable head might be narrowed, and&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2017\/10\/26\/cra-draft-advancement-of-religion-guidance-released-by-access-to-information-request\/\" class=\"linkbutton\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ts_fic_featured_image_caption":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-26433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CRA Draft Advancement of Religion Guidance Released by Access to Information Request - CCCC Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2017\/10\/26\/cra-draft-advancement-of-religion-guidance-released-by-access-to-information-request\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CRA Draft Advancement of Religion Guidance Released by Access to Information Request - CCCC Blogs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Authored by Philip A.S. Milley, Associate Director, Legal Affairs\u00a0 For over thirteen years, the Canada Revenue Agency (&#8220;CRA&#8221;) policy on the advancement of religion has not been updated. Over the past number of years, there has been a concern that the scope of this charitable head might be narrowed, and... 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Milley, Associate Director, Legal Affairs\u00a0 For over thirteen years, the Canada Revenue Agency (&#8220;CRA&#8221;) policy on the advancement of religion has not been updated. Over the past number of years, there has been a concern that the scope of this charitable head might be narrowed, and... 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Every organization\u2019s circumstances are unique. Before acting on the basis of information contained in this blog, readers should consult with a qualified lawyer for advice specific to their situation.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.cccc.org","simone.waller@cccc.org"],"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/author\/legal\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38596,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2025\/08\/21\/cccc-2025-federal-pre-budget-submissions\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":0},"title":"CCCC 2025 Federal Pre-Budget Submissions","author":"Deina Warren","date":"August 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"CCCC submitted a brief to both the House Finance Committee and the Department of Finance for 2025 pre-budget consultations, making the same recommendations in each. We made four recommendations including Publish the advancement of religion guidance, End the politicization of charitable status, Improve the Canada Summer Jobs program, and Develop\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PreBudgetSubmission-300-x-300-px.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PreBudgetSubmission-300-x-300-px.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PreBudgetSubmission-300-x-300-px.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PreBudgetSubmission-300-x-300-px.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/PreBudgetSubmission-300-x-300-px.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27264,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2018\/03\/08\/bussey-op-ed-government-doesnt-understand-religious-charities\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":1},"title":"Bussey Op-Ed: Government Doesn&#8217;t Understand Religious Charities","author":"cccc","date":"March 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Excerpts of Barry's Op-Ed in The Province: The uproar over the Canada Summer Jobs program has exposed a government blind spot. Although it is very responsive to certain perspectives,\u00a0Ottawa\u00a0does not seem to recognize or understand the concerns of religious communities. \u00a0 ....... As if that were not enough, it now\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2018\/03\/08\/bussey-op-ed-government-doesnt-understand-religious-charities\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1125.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1125.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1125.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1125.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/IMG_1125.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24317,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2016\/12\/13\/read-the-ccccs-submission-to-cra-on-the-political-activities-consultation\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":2},"title":"Read the CCCC&#8217;s Submission to CRA on the Political Activities Consultation","author":"Deina Warren","date":"December 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On September 27, 2016 the Minister of National Revenue announced the launch of consultations to clarify the rules regarding the involvement of charities in political activities.\u00a0As part of this engagement process, CRA has been collecting feedback from charities and the public. These consultations come as the result of the Government\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37604,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2024\/02\/27\/why-cccc-is-advocating-for-advancement-of-religion-guidance\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":3},"title":"Why CCCC is Advocating for Advancement of Religion Guidance","author":"Deina Warren","date":"February 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In a recent Philanthropist article, Why we need the CRA to publish advancement of religion guidance, CCCC's Director of Legal Affairs explains why the advancement of religion guidance needs to be released. Despite the fact that religious charities make up almost 40% of the registered charities in Canada, the guidance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"advancing religion\"","block_context":{"text":"advancing religion","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/tag\/advancing-religion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Mar2024_Guidance-square.png?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27407,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2018\/04\/10\/call-for-papers-the-advancement-of-religion-as-charitable-public-benefit\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":4},"title":"CALL FOR PAPERS: The Advancement of Religion as Charitable Public Benefit","author":"cccc","date":"April 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"CALL FOR PAPERS The Advancement of Religion as Charitable Public Benefit During the Trinity Western University Law School case hearing at the Supreme Court of Canada on December 1, 2017, Canadian Bar Association lawyer Susan Ursel was questioned by Justice Malcolm Rowe about the CBA\u2019s position that the accreditation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Law and religion; Advancement of Religion; Charity Law\"","block_context":{"text":"Law and religion; Advancement of Religion; Charity Law","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/tag\/law-and-religion-advancement-of-religion-charity-law\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38476,"url":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/legal\/2025\/04\/15\/staying-informed-about-charitable-status\/","url_meta":{"origin":26433,"position":5},"title":"Staying Informed about Charitable Status","author":"Deina Warren","date":"April 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As charities advancing religion, we know intuitively the value and importance of these organizations to Canadian society. But a report from a former House of Commons Finance Committee shows that not everyone understands or acknowledges the significant place of religious charities in Canada. The Issue We\u2019ve detailed the report and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Advocacy\"","block_context":{"text":"Advocacy","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/tag\/advocacy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/image-3.png?fit=512%2C429&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p30X8p-6Sl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26433"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=26433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}