Currently, the more than 2,000 employees of CrossReach - previously known as the Church of Scotland Board of Social Responsibility before it launched in June 2005 - must believe in the faith.
Bill Steele, convener of the Church's Social Care Council explained to The Herald why the move had been made: "Having consulted widely and having sought employment law advice, the Council does not believe that the requirement for all care and support staff to be Christian is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim."
"The change of policy had been the subject of a number of heart-searching discussions."
New care employees will now only be required to pledge that they will not undermine the charity's Christian ethos. They will, however, be unable to rise to managerial or supervisory level unless they subsequently make a Christian commitment.
The organisation is one of Scotland's largest providers of social services and it supports some of the country's most vulnerable people using its annual expenditure of £51 million.
CrossReach, whose mission statement includes "Christ's love moves us to reach out to those who are the greatest need - the marginalised, the poor, the frail, the hurting and the disadvantaged", receives most of its funds from local authorities. It also relies on donations to help people including those with learning disabilities, the elderly and people with drug and alcohol addiction.
Steele explained the charity is working on putting together a brief introduction to Christianity for future non-Christian employees, to help them better understand the Christian faith. He added: "We've been advised and we're happy to do that.
"What remains important to us is that all CrossReach staff, including those who do not share our faith, are required to respect our Christian ethos and values which we believe fundamentally underpins the quality of our care and support."
