In a letter to the organisation, the manager at the Co-op said, "Following a review of the activities of Christian Voice, we wish to give you notice that we require you to close your account with the Co-operative Bank plc. It has come to our attention that Christian Voice is engaged in discriminatory pronouncements, based on the grounds of sexual orientation."
Despite the fact the letter clearly stated the decision was based on sexual and not religious discrimination, Christian Voice said the bank was discriminating against it on religious grounds.
In a remarkable example of the pot calling the kettle black (are we allowed to say that?) Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice replied,"Of course we make 'discriminatory pronouncements on grounds of sexual orientation'. We have been criticising homosexual rights ever since we started eleven years ago. Standing up for righteousness is what we do."
Green, who disapproves of teaching about other religions in school, and admits that the heart of his mission is to return Britain to the 1950s also claims, "...at no time did they tell us about their militant pro-homosexuality."
The Co-operative Group - or Co-op, as it is lovingly known in the U.K. is a long established British institution. Their Ethical Policy Statements include the following exclusions.
- organisations operating in countries where there exists the highest degree of concern over the maintenance of human rights, where the nature of the business is particularly socially or environmentally contentious
- organisations which show ongoing failure to address human rights issues within their sphere of influence
I am not sure if the Co-op is right or wrong to ban Christian Voice. However, their community values go back a lot further than Stephen Green or his band of Christian activists.
I do know that unlike Christian Voice, they do not publish the home telephone numbers of BBC executives on their website, (many received threats of violence) nor are they suspected of having links with extremist groups in America.
It is ironic that Green, the author of a virulently anti-gay book called The Sexual Dead End, complains about religious discrimination, when he believes that Hindus are wicked and said: "We would like to reach out to Muslims and tell them they cannot find salvation in a dead Prophet."
Methinks he didn't think that one through very well.
The Guv'nor
