Sunday

BBC Radio 4

4.1 (22)
Religion & Spirituality
Biweekly

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

5d ago

Israel's election, C of E slavery 'reparations', modern day witches

On Tuesday Israelis go to the polls, in the first general election since the Hamas attacks of October 7th 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed. It's looking like a tight race between Benjamin Netanyahu and the former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. There’s no postal voting, so many living abroad are flying home to take part, in what some see as the most pivotal vote in the country’s history. Issues of political accountability, religion, and the future character of the world's only constitutionally Jewish state have dominated the campaign. Three years ago, the Church of England pledged a hundred million pounds to address its historic links to the transatlantic slave trade. Now a churchwarden and a rector have asked the Charity Commission for permission to challenge the plan, known as "Project Spire", in the High Court. They say the money is supposed to be supporting parish ministry, and that the Church's part in slavery has been overstated. We turn to two historians with very different takes on the moral case for reparations. With Hallowe'en - and the Celtic festival of Samhain - only days away, what does it mean to call yourself a witch in 2026? For four years the filmmaker Rosie Reed Hillman has been documenting the lives of 17 women in mid-life who do just that. We take a trip to her exhibition "Witches & Healers: Something that was ours" and speak to a modern day witch. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: James Graham and Jay Unger Studio Managers: Joe Stickler and Matthew Dempsey Editor: Dan Tierney
Oct 18

Pope Leo's health, Mecca pact, vicar fuel costs

Catholics around the world will be waiting to see Pope Leo this lunchtime, after he left hospital just yesterday following his operation to treat lung cancer. He's due to make his usual midday address and pray the Angelus from his window overlooking St Peter's Square in Rome - just seven days since he made the announcement which shocked the world that he was to have surgery. His return to public life is remarkably swift, but questions remain about the long term future of his health - not least whether the cancer found in his lung has spread. Earlier this week, one of his top diplomats Archbishop Sir Paul Gallagher, who works closely with Pope Leo in the Vatican, was in London giving a lecture for the Catholic newspaper The Tablet. A series of Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia this week has activated a newly-created defence alliance the country has formed with Turkey and Pakistan. Known as the 'Mecca Pact' - it was signed in the holy city this summer and is modelled on article five of the NATO agreement, which states that an attack on one is deemed an attack on all. It's raised questions over whether it's solely a military alliance - or, given each is a Sunni majority country - it heralds the emergence of a distinctly Islamic security bloc. With diesel prices topping £2.00 a litre for the first time in the past couple of weeks, there will be plenty feeling the pinch and making sacrifices in their daily lives. Included in those grappling with the costs, are rural vicars and ministers, who often rack up hundreds of miles a month serving multiple parishes. We checked in with a few to see how they're managing with their travel. Presenter: Julie Etchingham Producers: Katy Booth and Bara'atu Ibrahim Studio Managers: Nat Stokes, Helen Williams and Isabelle Whitehead Editor: Catherine Murray
Oct 11

Death row nun, Beatles’ spirituality, Aslan gender wars

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week with Emily Buchanan.
Oct 4

Chris Brain, Choral Evensong, Tammy Sandhu

On Friday Chris Brain, former leader of a Church group aimed at young people, was found guilty of one count of rape and four charges of sexual assault. It follows a separate trial last year. The verdicts mean Brain has now been convicted of a total of 22 sexual offences against 13 women. Julie Etchingham speaks to Andrew Graystone, theologian and advocate for survivors of abuse in the church This week marks one hundred years of BBC Choral Evensong, one of the longest-running music broadcasts anywhere in the world. Since 1926, generations of listeners have discovered cathedral and collegiate choirs through the programme, whether from great churches and cathedrals across Britain or from further afield. Leading next week's special centenary broadcast from Westminster Abbey is the Abbey's organist and master of the choristers, Andrew Nethsingha. He tells Julie Etchingham what it means to him personally to be leading this historic broadcast. Tammy Sandhu, after 20 years in the diplomatic service, has just become the UK's ambassador to the Holy See. Born in Leicester, ambassador Sandhu is the first woman from an ethnic minority background to hold the prestigious role. Tammy tells us what she has made of Vatican City so far. The Catholic and Anglican Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of all Ireland have been speaking to Sunday about two of the biggest challenges of their time: AI and the continuing standoff in Drumcree. Presenter: Julie Etchingham Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Katy Booth Studio Managers: Jonathan Esp & Ben Houghton Editor: Catherine Murray
Oct 2

Jehovah’s Witnesses blood u-turn, billionaire ethics, Laurence Olivier’s vicar father

For decades Jehovah's Witnesses have refused blood transfusions on religious grounds. That policy has now changed. Members may now decide for themselves whether to accept or donate red or white blood cells, plasma and platelets, although the ban on whole blood transfusions remains. Supporters say the move reflects a refined understanding of scripture, while critics argue it raises difficult questions about those who suffered or died under the previous policy. Many of the word’s big tech bosses joined President Trump and China's Xi Jinping for the White House state dinner this week. A clear signal for many that billionaires are at the top table, influencing politics. They have extraordinary wealth and power, but what should their responsibility be to the rest of society? Nick Hanauer has just shy of a billion from a career in business. He explains why he's committed to giving half of it away. Laurence Oliver was one of the greatest actors of his generation. This month marks 35 years since his ashes were interred in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey. New research has now come to light about the huge influence of his vicar father on his career. Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Dan Tierney and Liberty Phelan Editor: Chloe Walker.
Sep 20

Mullaly Award Saga, John Coltrane, Quran burial

The Archbishop of Canterbury has withdrawn an interfaith award from a Pakistani cleric, days after presenting it on the 25 anniversary of 9/11. Comments from 2007 resurfaced in which Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said he would give Osama bin Laden the title "Sword of God". He told the BBC his comments have been taken out of context. William Crawley speaks to Dr Edward Kessler, President of the Woolf Institute, which promotes understanding between Jews, Christians and Muslims. It's the centenary of John Coltrane's birth on Wednesday. In 1965 a young couple in San Francisco say they experienced a 'sound baptism' watching John Coltrane play. They went on to set up the The St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church - where the late saxophonist is venerated as a saint. We hear from BBC's Ben Cottam, who has been to San Francisco to attend the church’s Sunday service Row over a controversial Quran burial site in West Yorkshire. Residents in Sowerby Bridge are demanding the removal of a large marble structure they say has been built without permission and is linked to the burial of thousands of worn-out Quran. More than twelve hundred people have signed a petition for its removal. The site's users say it's simply a place to rest and garden, and that burying sacred texts is entirely lawful. Adam Wilkinson is a Labour Councillor representing Sowerby Bridge on Calderdale Council. Beyond those planning issues, the Sunday programme turns to Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, an Imam in Leicester to tell us why disused copies of the Quran are buried in the first place. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Katy Booth Studio Managers: Sharon Hughes & Georgia mae-Browne Editor: Tim Pemberton
Sep 13

How should faith leaders respond to the risks around AI?

What a week it has been for Doomsday warnings around AI. A researcher resigned from the AI company Anthropic saying colleagues across the industry believe artificial intelligence could kill us all by the end of the decade. Then the boss of Anthropic called for the pace of development of AI models to slow down and to be closely monitored. It's prompted calls for action towards an international treaty to regulate their growth. What role should faith leaders be playing in that regulation? We speak to Dr Steven Croft, the former Bishop of Oxford, who spent years advising the Church of England on the ethics of AI. The decision by the UK government to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank prompted a strong response from the UK's Chief Rabbi who called it a 'truly dark day for British Jews' that would 'succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target'. But other rabbis have supported the action, designed to curb settler violence. We hear from Rabbi Jeremy Gordon from the New London Synagogue. Plus, we find out about Ganga Aarti on the Thames, a Hindu ceremony of light, traditionally performed on the River Ganges in India, now being staged in Greenwich on a scale rarely attempted in Britain before. And, we learn more about how faith propelled the career of Irish world champion boxer Katie Taylor. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: James Graham and James Leesley Studio Managers: Kelly Young and Nathaniel Danter Editor: Catherine Murray
Sep 6

Nepal-Tibet floods reaction, multi-faith prayer rooms, Gloucester Cathedral's new pipe organ

Over a week since the catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet, and hundreds of foreign citizens are believed to be among the more than 5,000 people still missing. Among them, a group of 16 Hindu pilgrims who had set off from a small temple in south London, the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre. Emily Buchanan visits the community to find out how those left behind are coping. Prayer rooms are often indicated with a small sign at the airport, a quiet room off a hospital corridor marked 'multi‑faith' or 'quiet' space. These rooms are prompting fresh questions about how they are used and what their design reveals about how to accommodate faith needs in modern Britain. For many church goers, organ music is an intrinsic part of the whole experience. However, more than 400 of the UK's church pipe organs are falling silent due to neglect every year, according to a recent survey by the charity Pipe Up. Bucking the trend is Gloucester Cathedral, where a new organ now sits within restored 17th-century cases. To mark the completion of the work, a festival of celebration has been held, with its final event a Gala Concert on Saturday the 12 September. Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Katy Booth and Rosie Dawson Studio Managers: Amy Brennan and Teifi James Editor: Chloe Walker

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4.1

out of 5

22 Ratings

Thank You

08/10/2025

RaissaD

Thank you for making this available outside the UK. As a Unitarian Universalist, I love the various perspectives every week.
A needed coverage on religious news

05/13/2019

Mo Sena

Love listening to the different main religious stories of different faiths. But, the interviewees are often cut short in midsentence and rushed to finish their sentences. Why not cut down a little on the number of stories but allow for more in depth reportage?
Yes!

07/08/2018

Organa57

I love having a place to go for religion news!
No.

10/04/2010

accordian theif

No.