The Charity Commission is assessing concerns raised about sermons linked to the Bread of Life Community Church charity, with critics saying the sermons contain Islamophobic, homophobic and sexist comments.
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Premier Christian News: “The Commission has clear expectations that all charities, regardless of their purpose, must operate for the public benefit and within the law.
“Concerns have been raised with us about alleged sermons linked to Bread of Life Community Church, and we are assessing these to determine any role for the Commission as charity regulator.”
The commission said it had not opened a formal statutory inquiry or regulatory compliance case at this stage.
The concerns were raised by the National Secular Society (NSS), which contacted the regulator over comments made by preacher and trustee Stephen Clayden in sermons and online videos.
Among those highlighted were sermons in which Clayden criticised feminism, warned about the influence of Islam and socialism, and used biblical passages to condemn homosexuality, including references to Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1.
In his sermons, he can be heard saying: "The Muslims do not intend to take over by simply blowing people up or flying planes into buildings”, adding that they were “outbreeding the white population”.
He continued: “And the biggest mistake, the biggest mistake the UK has ever made, and the US has ever made, is allowing Muslims into positions of political power.”
“Do we love Muslims?" he asked. "Yes, we do. Do we hate Islam? Yes, we do. Because God hates it. He hates the religion that is separating them from him."
Clayden has defended the remarks as expressions of biblical teaching.
In a statement, he said: “We wholeheartedly reject the accusation that our views and statements are anti-Muslim, homophobic, and misogynistic." He added that the church distinguishes between religious critique and hostility towards individuals.
“We do not hate LGBT people, we love them, we care about them," he said.
The church is also appealing a legal notice issued by Colchester City Council restricting its street outreach activities over concerns described by authorities as “intimidating behaviour”.
Christian Concern, which is representing the church, said critics were attempting to “silence or vilify” Christian teaching and defended its outreach as providing “real and substantial public benefit”.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said critics were misrepresenting “mainstream biblical beliefs” and warned against attempts to “suppress lawful Christian expression”.
Earlier this month, the preacher published a short interview with Nigel Farage in which they discussed “Jesus, evangelism, and the Bible”, and the MP for Clacton expressed his support for the church’s case.