Which Policies, Relevant to the Religious Faith Context, are Apparent in the Case Law?
There are a number of policies or themes underlying the decisions on undue influence in the context of religious faith. Some have been mentioned previously, for example, the statement that equity will not undo unwise bargains. Whilst such policies clearly influence the outcomes of cases, they are neither conclusive, nor sufficient in themselves to determine outcomes. Two other policies are worthy of mention. A clear policy, apparent in the undue influence cases concerning religious faith, is that of protecting persons from exploitation in the practice of their religious and spiritual beliefs.[97] In early cases, this was expressed in terms of protection against fraudsters, that is, people masquerading as spiritual leaders who extorted material benefits from their followers. For example, in Norton v Relly[98] in 1764, the defendant was described as a person who ‘preys upon his deluded hearers, and robs them under the mask of religion’.[99] Most undue influence decisions in the context o
