Christian Action, Research and Education

Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) is a social policy charity based in the United Kingdom, with offices in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Christian Action, Research and Education
PredecessorNationwide Festival of Light
TypeChristian lobby group
Headquarters53 Romney Street
Westminster
London SW1P 3RF
United Kingdom
Executive Chairman
Lyndon Bowring[1]
Chief Executive
Ross Hendry
Websitewww.care.org.uk

Founding and programmes

CARE began in 1971 as the Nationwide Festival of Light, but was renamed in 1983 to reflect a substantial shift in emphasis. Over the following decades it established the following departments, in the belief that Christians should show active care as well as campaigning for moral standards in society:[2]

  • Care for the Family, a registered charity now independent of CARE,[3] initially established in 1988 as the UK sister ministry of Focus on the Family[4][5]
  • Care Confidential, which runs pregnancy counselling centres, and became independent in July 2011[6]
  • Caring Services (defunct)
  • Care for Education (defunct)
  • Fostering, long term and remand care (defunct)
  • Evaluate, CARE's sex and relationships education programme[7]

CARE also runs the "Leadership Programme", an internship programme securing placements for graduates. Some work as researchers for MPs, mostly in the Conservative party, and MSPs while others work in Christian NGOs.[2] The funding of political research assistants by a "right-wing Christian" lobby group has attracted controversy, although CARE claims that there is a clear separation between the internships and its lobbying side.[4] Unlike journalists, researchers have virtually unrestricted access to parliamentary documents and in 2008 Paul Burstow MP was questioned after failing to include a research assistant's CARE sponsorship on the main register -though he said he didn't believe they had behaved improperly.[8]

In 2022, an investigation by openDemocracy revealed that 20 British MPs had taken staff members from CARE since 2012.[9]

Charity registration

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) Trust (registered charity number 288485, registered 12 January 1984) ceased to exist on 30 September 2008. CARE (Christian Action Research and Education) (registered charity number 1066963, registered 18 December 1997) is still operational.[10]

Leadership

Lyndon Bowring is the Executive Chairman of the organization. He is a former minister at Kensington Temple, in London, and currently is on the staff of Regents Theological College.[11]

Finance

CARE's annual income to March 2021 was over £2 million, mostly from voluntary donations.[10] The cost of the intern programme is around £70,000 p.a.[8] It is supported by 40,000 donors.

Impact

CARE has been described as "an evangelical charity that promotes traditional family values";[12] the organisation has actively campaigned against LGBT rights, abortion, stem cell research and assisted dying bills. Its work has been dismissed in the House of Lords as "propaganda".[8]

Opposition to homosexuality, abortion and prostitution

Labour Party insiders credited CARE with significant influence in support of Section 28 regarding education and homosexuality.[8] CARE has received media criticism for its stance on abortion and homosexuality and was accused in 2000 by MP Ben Bradshaw of being "a bunch of homophobic bigots".[13][14] CARE has also been criticised for their opposition to abortion and gay rights.[15]

In 2009, CARE had a stall at an event run by Anglican Mainstream called 'Sex in the City'.[16] The event claimed to be "about the plethora of sexual issues confronting us in today's society, including mentoring the sexually broken, the sexualisation of culture, pornography, the Bible and sex, and marriage, the family and sex", but made headlines after National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) founder Joseph Nicolosi was invited to speak,[17] alongside Arthur Goldberg, co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality.[18] CARE have subsequently stated that they oppose abusive conversion therapy practices, while wanting to make sure that prospective laws do not impede religious liberty.[19]

CARE have funded the network of CareConfidential crisis pregnancy centres in the UK, some of which came under criticism in an investigation by The Daily Telegraph when counsellors were filmed undercover claiming abortions would increase chances of breast cancer and could predispose women to becoming child sexual abusers.[20]

CARE are listed in the UK Parliament's register of all-party groups as the secretariat of the All-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade, a pressure group to encourage 'government action to tackle individuals who create demand for sexual services'.[21]

In 2015, CARE backed a private member's bill to prohibit the advertising of prostitution,[22] the Advertising of Prostitution (Prohibition) Bill 2015–16, which was introduced by Lord McColl of Dulwich in the House of Lords.[23]

Other campaigns

CARE's 2010 report on taxation claimed that the tax burden had moved from single people with no dependants into families with two adults but only a single earner in them.[24]

References
  1. "Annual Report 2010" (PDF). CARE. 23 September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  2. "Our Story". CARE. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  3. "Care for the Family". Charity Commission. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  4. Modell, David (17 May 2008). "Christian fundamentalists fighting spiritual battle in Parliament". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  5. "Historical Timeline". Focus on the Family. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  6. Quinn, Ben (28 August 2011). "Christian activists poised to win concessions on abortion after 40 years". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  7. "Evaluate Informing Choice". Evaluate.org.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  8. Merrick, Jane (30 March 2008). "Right-wing Christian group pays for Commons researchers". Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2012. CARE connections (list of MPs)
  9. "20 MPs took staff provided by anti-abortion charity". openDemocracy.
  10. "CARE (Christian Action Research and Education)". Charity Commission. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  11. Residential teaching staff Archived 2014-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, Regents Theological College. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  12. "In bad taste?". (4 October 1988). The News-Journal. p.2A.
  13. Ahmed, Kamal (30 July 2000). "Onward Christian lobbyists". The Observer. London. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  14. Reid-Smith, Tris (16 March 2012). "UK MP cuts ties to Christian gay 'cure' charity". Gay Star News. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  15. Smurthwaite, Kate (19 April 2012). "Anti-abortion CARE and campaigns to MPs". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  16. "'Gay cure' conference to be held in London". PinkNews. Retrieved 30 Jan 2023.
  17. Booth, Robert; Ball, James (13 April 2012). "'Gay cure' Christian charity funded 20 MPs' interns]". The Guardian.
  18. Joseph Patrick McCormick. "MP who took interns from 'gay cure' event sponsor, appointed as Welsh Secretary". PinkNews. 14 July 2014, 11:16 PM.
  19. "Conversion therapy plan delayed". CARE. Retrieved 30 Jan 2023.
  20. "Abortion scandal: women told terminations increase chance of child abuse". Daily Telegraph. London. 10 February 2014. Archived from the original on 10 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  21. "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Groups as at 28 February 2014: Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  22. Mildred, James (5 June 2015). "Time to ban prostitution adverts". care.org.uk. Christian Action Research and Education. Retrieved 8 November 2015. Leading Christian charity CARE (Christian Action Research & Education) is backing an historic attempt by a senior Peer to ban prostitution adverts from newspapers and online sites across England and Wales.
  23. "Advertising of Prostitution (Prohibition) Bill [HL] 2015-16". parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 June 2015. A Bill to prohibit the advertising of prostitution; and for connected purposes.
  24. Taylor, Jeff (7 March 2011). "Christian charity claims single earner families worst off in UK". Economic Voice. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
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