The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren, has responded to accusations from Labor—including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese—that they are a cult.
Labor seemingly took umbrage at members of the church supporting Liberal candidates in Sydney.
In a statement, the church said it was shocked and saddened by comments made by Albanese during a recorded interview.
In a clip that was widely publicised, Albanese labels the group a cult and questions what they are gaining in return for supporting the Liberals.
“You have all sorts of strange occurrences with a cult, the Exclusive Brethren, that they need to explain going forward,” the prime minister told media.
“Where are all these people coming from? Why are they campaigning on booths? Because they don’t vote by the way, but they all of a sudden have found this enthusiasm in their hundreds to try and travel round the country and hand out how-to-votes, what’s the quid pro quo?”
Labor’s Andrew Charlton, a former advisor to Kevin Rudd and first-term Member for Parramatta, was also spotted walking around the electorate’s polling booths with a microphone and was filmed asking Liberal volunteers about their religious beliefs.
“Our church has around 16,600 in Australia, and our members are regular Christian people who live by the teachings of the Holy Bible,” a Plymouth Brethren Christian Church statement said.
“The prime minister should be advocating for people of all religions to be able to live free from hatred or discrimination in this country, not stoking the flames.”
Brethren members have reportedly been handing out how-to-vote cards in seats including Kooyong, Reid, Macquarie, Hawke, Gilmore and Calare, none of which are held by Liberals.
The church said such commentary regarding their religion needed to stop, as it could encourage harassment and marginalisation of volunteers.
“Plymouth Brethren families live peacefully in the community, in neighbourhoods all over Australia and across the world,” the statement said.
“We may live next door to you. You might work with us. We may live a little bit differently to what you’re used to—but we don’t deserve to be treated like that, just because of our religion.”
The Brethren formed in the 1820s as a breakaway from the Church of England and have since spread across 19 countries, including Australia.
The involvement of religious groups in politics is nothing new.
The grassroots group, Muslim Votes Matter, is campaigning entirely on religious, ethnic, and political lines—particularly support for Palestine—and is operating across electorates with large Muslim populations.
Further, South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic has also engaged Christian communities to encourage them to join the Liberal Party, steer it to embrace firmer moral and conservative positions, rather than avoid difficult “culture war” debates.
