Clergy and religious lobby groups are keen for candidates to be quizzed about their stance on moral issues, amid fears that their traditional views are being marginalised in modern Britain, according to an article in the online version of The Telegraph newspaper by Martin Beckford at www.telegraph.co.uk

Beckford reports that churchgoers attending the meetings, to be held in places of worship of all Christian denominations from Aber-deen in the north to Exeter in the far southwest, are likely to ask political hopefuls for their opinion on marriage, abortion, assisted suicide and faith-based schools.

Nola Leach, chief executive of CARE, a leading Christian charity and research group, said: “In the context of widespread voter apathy and public disillusionment with politics, these hustings demonstrate the dynamic and important role that the Church is playing in helping people engage in the political process.”

Dan Boucher, its director of Parliamentary affairs, added: “We have never before had so many church hustings register with us and with just a week of the campaign gone we expect more hustings to be announced in the coming days. It's great to see the Church facilitating such a crucial process in the public square.”

Beckford says that so far clergy in 113 constituencies have signed up to CARE's list of church hustings. A further 14 “Christians and Candidates” events are being held by Christian Concern for our Nation, some of which will be chaired by the outspoken former Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali.

Beckford explains that some of the hustings are being held in the constituencies of politicians who have clashed with church groups, such as Harriet Harman, the architect of the controversial Equality Act. Beckford says most of the meetings are likely to take place in the week before polling day on May 6, and CARE has published a guide for parishes on how to make sure they run smoothly.

He says they risk accusations of unfairness as the Church of England has told clergy not to invite candidates from the “racist” British National Party.

The newspaper says that an official C of E guidance document states: “Churches are under no legal obligation to include the BNP in election hustings meetings, or give space to such parties for public meetings, if they consider this ‘association’ could have detrimental affect on their reputation and activities (as charities).”

The newspaper goes on to say that church groups are keen to make an impact on the general election after a series of cases in which it has been claimed that Christians suffered discrimination in the workplace, along with high-profile clashes between senior clerics and Labour Party ministers over equality legislation that was seen as an attack on freedom of conscience.  Roman Catholic bishops have already told voters, according to the newspaper, to ask prospective MPs (Members of Parliament) what practical steps they would take to support marriage and what place they believe religion has in society.

In a close-run election campaign, the leaders of both the Labour and Conservative parties have tried to win over religious voters, the newspaper adds. It also reports that in his Easter message, Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed Christians as “the conscience of our country” and spoke of the “redeeming power of faith.”

The newspaper report also says David Cameron, the Conservative leader, gave an interview to the Catholic Herald newspaper last week in which he called for the abortion time limit to be reduced from 24 weeks, and said he believed faith-based  schools should be free to teach sex education as they saw fit.