The Charity Commission is assessing concerns at a Christian charity in Lancashire after one of its trustees made “divisive” comments, including describing Islam and Judaism as “false” religions.
The National Secular Society (NSS) reported Emmanuel Free Church of England, Morecambe, to the regulator over remarks reverend Brett Murphy made during a sermon and interview.
In the sermon on 2 August, Murphy said modern Judaism contained “demonic cults” practising “black magic” and teaching “vile and reprehensible blasphemies so disgusting I won’t even repeat them aloud”.
In an interview posted on the Project Britannia YouTube channel in July, he said “absolute retards” turned to Islam, which he described as “a demonic false religion from the pits of unholy hell”.
A commission spokesperson told Civil Society: “We’re assessing concerns raised with us about Emmanuel Free Church, Morecambe, to determine our next steps as regulator.”
Emmanuel Free Church of England, Morecambe, was registered as a charity in October 2010 and aims to promote religion in the local area.
The charity has eight volunteers and four trustees, including Murphy, and recorded a total income of £36,800 in the year ending 31 December 2024.
‘Feminism is cancer’
In the sermon, Murphy is heard saying that Judaism is a “false antichrist religion” and that these “evil beliefs” should be “refuted along with every other false belief and false religion”.
He said there are “some Jews doing very evil things in the world today”, adding that the “Epstein files prove that”.
Meanwhile, Murphy is heard during the interview saying that “hordes of heathen Muhammadans coming into our country” need to be stopped.
“We’re being invaded by an army of heathens who want to kill us,” he said.
Murphy also described feminism as a “cancer” and gay couples as “sodomite unions”, encouraging them to “repent and turn away from their wickedness”, and called for “homosexual adoption” to end.
On immigration, he said: “We’re talking about hundreds of millions of Hindus, of Sikhs, and particularly Muslims, who worship pagan gods, who are antithetical to our western Christianity”.
Alejandro Sanchez, spokesperson for the NSS, said: “Once again we see a trustee of a charity registered under ‘the advancement of religion’ promoting vicious homophobia and sowing social division.
“Mr Murphy is entitled to his repugnant views, but they shouldn’t be subsidised at taxpayer expense.”
The NSS has long campaigned for the advancement of religion to be removed as a charitable object, with an all-party parliamentary group set up to consider this proposal earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the government has pledged to increase the commission’s powers to combat “those who exploit charitable status to spread hate”.
Emmanuel Free Church of England, Morecambe, has been contacted for comment.
