Scottish church ministers and officials are concerned that the same-sex marriage bill, passed this week, will impact on churches’ charitable status.

The day before the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill had its final reading in the Scottish Parliament, over 50 church officials had sent a letter to Scottish Minister Alex Neil, calling for amendments to the bill over concerns that their charitable status could be put at risk should they be unwilling to marry same-sex couples in their churches.

They called for the Scottish government to amend charity law so that holding or expressing the view that marriage is only between a man and a woman could not be cited as a “disbenefit” by the Scottish charity regulator, OSCR, when administering the charity test. These proposed changes were comprehensively defeated when the bill became law on Tuesday.

New law should not affect churches' charitable status, says OSCR

Commenting on churches' concerns, David Robb, chief executive of OSCR, said: “The interaction of equality law and charity law is a complex and sometimes contested area, and we have been following the passage of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act closely.  

“We have not seen the letter, but we are aware of the concerns of some churches and religious organisations about the impact of the act on their charitable status.  As regulator, our role is to ensure that charity trustees conduct their affairs lawfully and that public confidence in charities is thereby upheld.

“We have advised the Scottish government that the simple expression of a view on same-sex marriage which was to the furtherance of a body’s charitable purposes is not expected to adversely affect the body’s charitable status.  

“We agree with the view expressed during the Stage 3 debate that there could be unintended difficulties as a result of singling out views on same-sex marriage in the legislation on what constitutes ‘disbenefit’, and therefore do not consider that there is a case for legislative change.”

Public bodies will not partner with churches

The letter from the coalition of church officials also stated: “Similarly, many churches routinely hire public buildings for Sunday worship or are engaged in the delivery of services such as food banks, debt advice and family support.

“We are greatly concerned that following any change in the law some public bodies might refuse to enter into any partnerships or arrangements with a church which publicly states its opposition to same-sex marriage, perhaps citing the Public Sector Equality Duty as the reason.”

The letter, which was sent on behalf of the organisation Scotland for Marriage, which is against same-sex marriage, stated that the primary concern was the effect of the Act on public sector employees and called for reassurances that those who disagree with same-sex marriage will have their view respected by employers.

It said: “Will people working in the public sector who express the view that marriage can only ever be between a man and a woman be disciplined, or even have their suitability for employment questioned, on the basis that their views are deemed incompatible with their employer’s commitment to equality and diversity?”

MSPs voted by 105 to 18 in favour of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill and Scotland’s first same-sex marriages are expected to take place this autumn.

Scotland for Marriage: MSPs steam-rollered through the law

Almost 55,000 signed up to the Scotland for Marriage campaign, meaning it had more supporters than the combined, paid-up memberships of the four main political parties.

A spokesman from Scotland for Marriage said: “The overwhelming majority of MSPs have completely ignored public opinion and steam-rollered through a law which is ill-conceived, poorly thought out and will, in time, discriminate against ordinary people for their sincerely held beliefs.”

He added: “The Scottish government promised protections and claimed safeguards were in place to protect individuals. Clearly they are not. We expect prosecutions and discrimination to follow in the brave new world of Scotland 2014.”

The letter addressed to Neil also referenced the case of the Catholic adoption agency which this week won an appeal to keep its charity status after it was almost stripped off it by OSCR when accused of breaching the Equality Act 2010. St Margaret’s Children and Family Care Society had been accused of directly discriminating against same-sex couples.

The letter said: “We note with disappointment the recent events surrounding St Margaret’s Catholic adoption agency, despite earlier assurances. We would therefore respectfully ask that the Scottish government brings forward robust amendments on the points we have raised, rather than merely provide written reassurances or supplementary guidance.”