Any clergy found to be members of the two parties will face disciplinary action after bishops declared them un-Christian

Church of England clergy face being defrocked if they are found to be members of the British National party or National Front after bishops ruled that the organisations' views were un-Christian.

The church said the two groups' views were incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England because of their respective stances on "equality of persons or groups of different races". It is the first time clergy have formally been banned from membership of any political party. Anyone who defies the ban would be subject to disciplinary procedures.

The bishops' move to, in effect, ban the two political parties comes after the General Synod gave final approval in 2012 to legislation making it "unbecoming or inappropriate" conduct for clergy to be members of a political party with policies and activities declared incompatible with church teaching on race equality.

The synod, or national assembly of the Church of England, will now have an opportunity to debate and give formal approval to the declaration when it meets in York next month. If there is no debate, the declaration will automatically come into force at the start of the meeting.

A church spokesman said it had not considered including the UK Independence party, which has been accused of racism and widely attacked for its anti-immigrant rhetoric during the recent elections, on the proscribed list because it was not overtly racist.

He said: "I think if you look at both the BNP and NF and their manifestos and declarations it is quite clear they are racist groups."

He said other groups, such as the English Defence League, were not included as they did not have the same formal structure as the BNP and National Front.

The BNP leader, Nick Griffin, lost his seat as an MEP in last month's elections and the party has been riven by infighting and splits over the past five years. It was also forced to change its constitution after it was deemed discriminatory by the courts.

A BNP spokesman said: "This is indicative of the way that the Church of England is being politicised. What is written in the Bible and scripture is clearly of secondary importance to the politically correct option that these people adhere to.

"Where is it going to end? Are BNP members going to be allowed to be buried any more in churches? Is that where it is going to end? It makes you wonder. It is very sad to see the church go along with this."