Sunday BBC Radio 4
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- Religion & Spirituality
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A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
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Ramadan in Gaza, Leaving Faith Helpline, Alternative Mothering Sunday
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is normally a time of fasting, family and prayer for Muslims around the world. How can the people of Gaza observe Ramadan in the middle of conflict, displacement and desperate food shortages? Ghada Ouda, a journalist in Rafah in the south of Gaza, tells us about her preparations.
The first ever helpline in the UK dedicated to people leaving controlling groups or experiencing religious trauma has just been set up. Terri O'Sullivan, Apostate Services Development Officer, at Humanists UK explains who is using the service.
As Christians mark the fourth Sunday in Lent, Mothering Sunday, we ask is it ok to avoid church? Lizzie Lowrie discusses the alternative liturgy she helped create for those who find the day difficult.
Editor: Dan Tierney
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Alexa Good and James Leesley
Studio Managers: Simon Highfield and Kelly Young
Production Coordinator: Pete Liggins -
Gaza aid; Brit Awards; UK Islamophobia
More than 100 Palestinians died trying to get food from an aid convoy earlier in the week. We hear from Gaza's small Christian minority, most of whom have been sheltering in two churches, as well as from ICRC's Matt Morris on the challenges aid agencies face in getting aid across to a people on the brink of starvation.
The 26-year-old artist claimed a record-breaking six prizes, including Best Artist and Best Album. She also became the first woman to win songwriter of the year. Raye is outspoken about her life as a committed Christian, and has even suggested that God saved her from taking her own life. She's talked about her faith to the BBC music correspondent, Mark Savage.
The prime minister's dramatic appearance at the Downing Street lectern on Friday night, warning of extremists "trying to tear us apart", followed days of roiling political turmoil; the row over the now former Tory MP Lee Anderson claiming that the Mayor of London is "controlled" by Islamists, the claim by another Tory MP, Paul Scully, that parts of London and Birmingham are "no-go areas". All these things played into debates about extremism, race and religion. A report by Jasdeep Bahia looks into one of those so-called no-go areas, and Edward Stourton speaks live to Hope Not Hate's Nick Lowles who conducted a poll on Tory Islamophobia, as well as Tory MP Paul Scully.
Editor: Tim Pemberton
Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Linda Walker
Studio Managers: Sue Stonestreet & Mike Smith
Production Coordinator: David Baguley -
Vatican secrets; Interfaith row; AI and beyond the grave
Some of the Vatican’s secrets have been revealed in a new book, ”Secretum”, by Massimo Franco. It’s in the form of a series of conversations with Archbishop Sergio Pagano, who has worked in the Vatican archive for 45 years. From stories of Vatican intrigue to a letter written in 1530 by English nobles urging Pope Clement VII to grant Henry VIII an annulment so he could marry Anne Boleyn, Massimo Franco tells Edward about some of the gems in the Archive.
The Inter Faith Network (IFN) is to close after the government withdrew funding because one of its trustees is associated with the Muslim Council of Britain. Since 1987 the IFN has worked to promote understanding and good relations between people of different faiths. Edward talks to IFN’s executive director, Dr Harriet Crabtree and to Zara Mohammed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Increasingly AI is being used to help people maintain a form of relationship after death, to help preserve a legacy or experiences worth remembering. We hear from the AI version of the actor Ed Asner who died in 2021, from Stephen Smith, CEO of StoryFile, who created it and from Dr Nathan Mladin from Theos whose latest report looks at the pros and cons of how AI is being used in the rapidly changing world of grief tech.
Producers: Amanda Hancox and James Leesley -
Israel Gaza conflict; Rochdale Labour; Rave in the nave
Israeli troops are set to advance into the Gazan city of Rafah, defying international pleas to reconsider. Some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering there.
The UK House of Bishops is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict. The Sunday programme spoke to Bishop of Worchester Dr John Inge.
Sir Keir Starmer has defended his handling of the antisemitism row in his party as a Muslim candidate is withdrawn from the race in Rochdale.
William Crawley speaks to Marc Levy - the chief executive of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester and Mohammed Shafiq, National Executive Committee member of PCS Union and Chief Executive and founding member of the Ramadhan Foundation which is one of the UK's leading Muslim youth organisations.
Church buildings have opened their doors and held public events for centuries; Choral Evensong, Classical concerts and in more recent times, Lego building and Crazy Golf. But this year, many cathedrals across the country are taking it a step further and hosting 80s, 90s and 00s themed ‘Silent Discos’. Canterbury Cathedral recently hosted two sold-out nights with an attendance of 3,000 people at £25 per ticket. But not everyone agrees. Some critics have questioned whether this is an ‘appropriate’ use of sacred space, and a petition campaigning against the events has amassed over two thousand signatures. So what is an ‘appropriate’ use of a sacred space?
William Crawley speaks to the Dean of St Albans, Jo Kelly-Moore.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim and Linda Walker
Production Coordinator: David Baguley
Editor: Tim Pemberton -
Asylum Conversions, the Power of Prayer, 'Sexualised' Jesus
Sunday's interview last week with Weymouth Baptist Church has led to a great deal of debate about whether church leaders are backing fraudulent asylum claims. The home secretary is now investigating how the asylum system deals with migrants who have converted to Christianity. We talk to the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani on the churches role in asylum.
Religious leaders across different faiths united to offer their prayers for King Charles following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. How is personal faith challenged by a cancer diagnosis and how do different faiths and modern science approach the idea of praying for someone’s health in times of sickness? We hear US neuroscientist Joshua Brown and Kishori Jani, a teacher of Hindu scripture who runs popular social media channels featuring mantra chanting.
Spanish artist Salustiano García Cruz's depiction of a handsome, youthful Jesus on a poster in Seville has become the source of controversy. The painting, which shows a young and muscular Jesus in a loincloth, has critics – largely conservatives on social media – calling the image "offensive", "evil", and too "sexualised" for Holy Week. We take a look into how Jesus has been depicted in art over the centuries with Dr Siobhan Jolley, Art and Religion specialist at the National Gallery.
PRESENTER: EMILY BUCHANAN
PRODUCERS: ALEXA GOOD AND ROSIE DAWSON
EDITOR: DAN TIERNEY
Customer Reviews
A needed coverage on religious news
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!
I love having a place to go for religion news!
Wonderful program
What a simply wonderful program. I listen to it weekly without err. The guests are respected but held to account and the entire feel is controlled yet open. Good job