LONDON, UK, August 27, 2002: An Anglican minister said Tuesday that he has banned yoga classes from his church because he feels the practice is incompatible with Christianity. The Rev. Derek Smith has angered yoga practitioners by barring a weekly yoga class from meeting in the hall of St. Michael’s church in Melksham, 100 miles west of London. Smith said that his decision to stop the classes is because of yoga’s association with Hinduism. In London a spokesman for Britain’s Anglican Church backed the right of clergymen to take a stand against any practices which “do not square with Christian teachings.” He said other ministers share the concerns about the spiritual basis of some versions of the exercise regime, since many church halls across the UK accommodate yoga classes. The spokesman added: “Yoga is used as a kind of generic term for exercise and stretching, but there are many different types of yoga. Some have a more spiritual basis as handed down from Eastern religions.”
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