Beyond Belief

The word "Avatar" was not conceived by a Hollywood film producer but comes from the Sanskrit word for "descent". It relates to when a deity manifests in an earthly embodiment. In Christianity "incarnation" describes the coming of the divine in bodily form to the world in which we inhabit. Does this make Jesus an "Avatar"? Some Hindu's believe so. In this programme Ernie Rea explores the parallels...

This week the extraordinary Synod on the family called by Pope Francis takes place in Rome. It is a crucial moment for the church because the notion of what constitutes family and attitudes towards things like contraception, marriage, abortion and divorce have changed, putting church teaching out of step with wider society and indeed many Catholics. The question is what should the Church do about...

The belief in Karma is central to many of the religions of the east - the idea that every action has consequences, that what we did in a previous life affects who and what we are in this life. The concept may have originated in the east but it has seeped into Western thinking. When someone is seen to get their 'just deserts', we often remark that what goes around comes around. But is that a simpli...

Should religions have a public relations strategy? Every organisation needs good communicators and religious bodies are no exception. They were once very good at it. Messages that had their origins in fairly obscure corners of the globe changed the lives of hundreds of millions. So what has gone wrong? Nowadays events can quickly unfold into PR disasters for religions. Is religion just another bra...

When it comes to belief how tenable a position is "I don't know"? According to a 2013 You Gov poll, 18% of young people when asked about belief in some "spiritual greater power" answered exactly that. The noisy debate between atheists and religionists has drowned out those that fit into neither camp - the Agnostics. But beyond "I don't know" what does it mean to be an Agnostic and is it a viable t...

Today life for religious minorities in Northern Iraq is perilous as the militant Islamist group, Islamic State, continues to attack a range of diverse groups across the country in its pursuit of establishing a new Caliphate. But in this programme Ernie Rea and guests explore how up until the 20th century Iraq was known as a harmonious melting pot of religious and ethnic diversity. How true is that...

The blessing "In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit" is much used in Christianity. But what do we mean by the term Holy Spirit? Belief in the Holy Spirit is a cardinal tenet of the Christian faith, while Muslims and Jews talk of the "Spirit of God." Whilst there is some common ground between the faiths, the differences in the interpretation of the Holy Spirit go to the heart of what marks the...

The current crisis' in Iraq, Gaza and Syria means there is much work for humanitarian relief agencies working to pick up the pieces of these terrible conflicts. Many of these groups are faith based bodies - organisations motivated by a religious conviction to help those in need. But what does it mean to be a faith based charity? Is it a strength to have a religious dimension or a weakness? And how...

Envy, Pride, Anger, Gluttony and Lust are some of the misdemeanours considered so serious by the Church that they could have a fatal effect on an individual's spiritual health. Early British wall paintings stressed the connection between committing these so called "deadly sins" and ending up in Hell. But who decided what the seven deadly sins should be? Why was sadness replaced by sloth? Ernie Rea...

Was William Shakespeare a closet Catholic? This year sees the 450th anniversary of his birth. He lived through a time of great turmoil, when Elizabeth the First tried to impose uniformity on the country's religious practice. How much is that reflected in his plays? How much did religion matter to Shakespeare? Did he have a particular religious agenda? And does he have a message for our contemporar...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss Christian perspectives on Gender identity. Within the last 40 years it has been possible for people to undergo sex reassignment surgery. British law was changed ten years ago to enable them to change the sex given on their birth certificates. What challenges do these developments throw up for Christian thought and practice? Ernie is joined by Rev Rachel Mann, a transge...

What is the purpose of an Islamic education? Faith Schools are popular with parents, but there is also considerable public disquiet about them - particularly when such schools are Islamic. The Al Madinah Free School in Derby has been forced to close its secondary wing on the grounds that it is "Chaotic, dysfunctional and inadequate." Now there are so called Trojan Horse allegations about five scho...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss the meaning of Apostasy within Islam. The case of Meriam Ibrahim, sentenced to death by a Sudanese court for abandoning Islam, has attracted world wide attention. In the West, the court decision has been almost universally condemned as a violation of a basic human right, that of religious freedom. About 20 Muslim countries in the world have laws against apostasy; What...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss Last Rites in some of the world's major faiths. The one reality of which everyone can be sure is that they will die. Most people say they want to die at home surrounded by their loved ones, but dying in hospital is the norm. Religious communities have traditional rituals around dying - do these transfer easily to a clinical setting? And what might the idea of Last Rite...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss mindfulness meditation. It has its roots in religious practice, but can it be adapted to a secular environment?

Ernie Rea and guests discuss the heady mix of football and religion in Brazil in the first of a new series of Beyond Belief. For a month from the 12th June there will be a football match on television just about every evening during the World Cup. The host nation, Brazil, are among the favourites to win. Many of their players will be looking to a higher power to help their efforts on the field, be...

India is about to go to the polls. 788 million people are eligible to vote in the world's largest democracy. The role of regional, local and caste-based parties is important in Indian politics where Governments tend to rule by coalition, but this election is being represented as an epic struggle between the Indian National Congress party and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by the controversial fi...

A new word has entered into our common vocabulary recently. Fracking is the process whereby shale gas can be released from beneath the earth's surface. On the one hand, it's argued that fracking could give us enough gas to meet our short to medium term energy needs; on the other hand, there are those who fear it will do lasting environmental damage. How do you balance short term needs with long te...

The Spring equinox falls on 20th March. A few dozen pagans and Druids will mark it with ceremonies inside the famous circle at Stonehenge. The summer solstice in June, on the other hand, will see thousands of people converge on the site. Why do they come? To connect with the ancestors? Celebrate nature? Rave? Does what they do bear any relationship to what happened at Stonehenge thousands of years...

The Christian season of Lent is a time for recalling the forty days and nights spent by Jesus in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry. In other faiths too the wilderness is a place of refuge, self- discovery, temptation and joy. Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the idea and experience of the wilderness are the Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, the Buddhist writer Vishvapani,...

Ernie Rea discusses the impact of Pope Francis' first year in the Vatican with journalist Paul Vallely, academic Tina Beattie and parish priest Marcus Holden. The Pope is still enjoying a media honeymoon but what is his programme for change? Can he do more than change the atmosphere in the Church? He has appointed eight Cardinals from outside the Curia as his key advisers - what fresh perspectives...

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, recently suggested that the Church of England may be extinct within a generation unless it learns to connect with young people. The Church of England is the most obvious example of a religious institution in serious decline, but it's certainly not the only one. Why is this happening? If our major religious institutions die, who will notice? And what...

As the Sochi Games enter their final week, William Crawley discusses the role of religion in Putin's Russia with Xenia Dennen, chairman of the Keston institute for the study of religion in the former Communist bloc, Vera Tolz, Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Manchester and Fr Andrew Phillips, a priest with the Russian Orthodox Church abroad.

Yoga is big business. Its worth $10bn a year in America alone. Does the growth in yoga's popularity, particularly in the West, mean that its spiritual content and religious roots are being neglected? Can yoga be practised aside from these roots? Are there even dangers in doing so? Ernie Rea is joined by Jim Mallinson from SOAS, University of London, Suzanne Newcombe from the charity Inform and Ram...

Officially anyone who declares that "There is one God and Muhammed is his prophet" is a Muslim. But many Muslims argue that the beliefs of the Ahmadi community mean they cannot be part of the faith. There are about 12 million Ahmadi worldwide and their headquarters, originally in Pakistan, are now in London. Their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, claimed to be a prophet, although a lesser one than Moh...