Christian Action Research and Education

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:

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. 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. 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.

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.

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.

Finance

CARE's annual income to March 2011 was over £2 million, mostly from voluntary donations. The cost of the intern programme is around £70,000 p.a. It is supported by some 40,000 individuals who want CARE to make a difference in Parliament.

Impact

CARE has been described as "an evangelical charity that promotes traditional family values"; 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".

Opposition to homosexuality, abortion and prostitution

Labour Party insiders credited CARE with significant influence in support of Section 28 regarding education and homosexuality. 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". CARE has also been criticised for their opposition to abortion and gay rights by The Guardian which reported that the organisation sponsored a conference claiming homosexuality could be cured.

In 2009, CARE sponsored a "Judaeo-Christian" event about homosexuality and promoting "'gay cure' therapy", which CARE billed as "mentoring the sexually broken". The conference also included a keynote speech from National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) founder Joseph Nicolosi, alongside Arthur Goldberg, co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality.

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.

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'.

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

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.