The Church of England was accused by one of its black bishops yesterday of institutional racism.
Speaking in a General Synod debate on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry report, the Bishop of Stepney, the Right Rev Dr John Sentamu, said that within the church the "expectation of the historic, white, educated elite English norm is maintained, regardless of the make-up of a congregation".
The bishop, who was a member of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry team, said the church had failed to monitor what had happened within its walls with regard to racism or create programmes for change.
As Stephen Lawrence's father, Mr Neville Lawrence, listened intently, the bishop added: "At present the church experience of its different cultural and ethnic groups isn't generally drawn upon in our education and teaching."
The bishop, a former high court judge in Uganda and one of only two black bishops in the Church of England, said the definition of racism and institutional racism outlined in the Lawrence inquiry report should be used by the church, as well as police and government bodies, as a "plumb line to judge its corporate life".
He urged the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to set in motion measures to increase the confidence and participation of minority ethnic Anglicans in the church and make them more visible. The bishop also stressed the need to help the police combat racism and suggested churches should be offered as neutral centres where racist incidents and crimes could be reported.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, told the synod sitting in York that the church was still "a very long way from being home and dry" with regard to racism.
Dr Carey said the church needed to look at increasing the numbers of black and Asian priests as well as having more people from the ethnic communities on its staff.
Meanwhile, Church of England clergy who question the existence of God may find themselves up before a heresy tribunal for the first time in 150 years.
The General Synod agreed earlier this week to a proposal by bishops to include offences against "doctrine, ritual and ceremonial" matters in a new streamlined procedure for disciplining priests.