9 July 2009 | 09-0545 |

Trevor Grundy
Canterbury, England (ENI). The Methodist Church, the third largest in England, has become the first church in the country to ban its members from belonging to the British National Party, which Methodism deems to be a group advocating racism.

The church said on 9 July that its annual conference in Wolverhampton had passed a resolution that none of the church's 265 000 members could be a member of a political party whose constitution, aims or objectives promote racism. This specifically includes, but is not solely limited to, the BNP.

"We must be clear that racism is a denial of the Gospel. An openness to all people, regardless of nationality, is at the heart of Methodist identity," said the Rev. Sylvester Deigh, proposing a "notice of the motion" banning membership of the BNP and similar parties.

"This does not mean that people will be excluded from attending church; God welcomes all, saints and sinners alike. But it does mean that members of racist political parties will not be able to become full members of the church," explained Deigh.

The Church of England earlier this year banned Anglican clergy from membership of the BNP but British Methodists have gone further by declaring that no one can be a member of the church while also belonging to the BNP.

In June 2009, British voters elected two BNP members to the European Union Parliament. This was the first time the party had gained representation in a major institution higher than local city council level.

The Methodist banning motion was seconded by the Rev. Angela Shier-Jones and signed by eight other members of the church's conference, a body that agrees policy for the Methodist Church in Great Britain, and that first met under the leadership of John Wesley, the church's founder, in 1744.

A statement from the conference, which met from 2 to 9 July in the central England town of Wolverhampton, said, "People who speak on behalf of the Methodist Church will also be barred from membership of such parties. The church will now undertake the legal work required to put this into practice and report back to the Methodist Conference in July 2010."

During debate, the conference noted with approval that the Church of England at its February 2009 synod had voted to prohibit members of its clergy from being members of the BNP. It also expressed dismay at the recent electoral successes of parties with nationalistic ideologies, in particular the BNP in the EU elections.

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