BNP bishops

Earlier this week, as editor of the UK’s only gay humanist magazine, Gay & Lesbian Humanist, I weighed into the debate over calls by two of the country’s leading churchmen for people not to vote for the British National Party (BNP).

The Archbishops of both Canterbury and York, Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, say voters should not let the current scandal over MPs’ expenses drive them to vote BNP.

In recognising the public’s anger over the Westminster expenses debacle, the two churchmen warned, “This is not a moment for voting in favour of any political party whose core ideology is about sowing division in our communities and hostility on grounds of race, creed or colour.”

However, I deplore the hypocrisy of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, warning the public of the socially divisive doctrines of the BNP on the grounds of “race, creed or colour”, and imploring the public not to vote for this political party.

What the archbishops forget to mention is that the church has a great deal in common with the BNP, as both the BNP and the Christian church are vehemently homophobic and cast gay people as sinners, second-class citizens and perverts who should keep their distasteful predilections in closeted privacy.

Indeed, people should be aware of the socially divisive evil of BNP doctrine, but equally they should be aware that the Christian church shares some of the most repugnant beliefs of the BNP.

Decent people who care about equality and fairness in our diverse and complex modern British society should shun the BNP and the church – for the same reasons.