Beyond Belief

The history of Islam in Mali is a long one. The faith, brought by traders, was adopted slowly over the centuries until the French colonisers arrived, after which its spread was accelerated. The recent conflict in Mali has been portrayed as a struggle between a home-grown "tolerant" Islam and an aggressive Wahabi influence from outside. How accurate is this picture? Ernie Rea is joined by journalis...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss the reasons behind rising anti-semitism in Europe. A survey published last year revealed that 24% of the French population holds anti semitic views. The figure for Hungary is 63%. In Spain 72% of the people are willing to admit that they are anti Jew. Just 70 years after Hitler tried to wipe out European Jewry, attacks on Jews are on the increase. What is the cause of...

It may surprise you to know that the world's tallest hotel is in Makkah. The Clock Tower which is part of the same complex is the world's largest clock tower. None of this would be all that important were it not for the fact that these building are metres away from the Grand Mosque which, for Muslims, is the world's holiest place. In order to create the space for this expansion, large residential...

The fundamental message of Sikhism appears to be simple; God is one and all people are equal. But are some more equal than others? If the Sikh scriptures are consistent with a feminist agenda, why do some Sikh women feel that they are second class citizens? Joining Ernie to discuss the position of women within the Sikh tradition are Navtej Purewal, Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Manc...

The 1960s and 70s saw a proliferation of New Religious Movements in this country. Perhaps the best known is the Unification Church founded by the Rev Sun Myung Moon which attracted world wide attention because of mass weddings where couples who had often never met were paired together. The Rev Moon died last September and the movement is struggling to come to terms with his departure. So what will...

If you get to listen to this programme, it's because the Domesday scenario - according to which the world would end on December 21st - did not happen. The interpretation of the Mayan calendar that arrived at this date was derided by most Mayan scholars, but this hasn't stopped the media camping out in the French village of Bugarach, identified as the only village on earth which was to be spared de...

The recent jailing of three young women for staging a political protest in a cathedral in Moscow has highlighted the relationship between the Government and the Russian Orthodox Church. Ernie Rea's guests today are Canon Michael Bordeaux from the Keston Institute for the Study of Religion and Communism, Father Andrew Phillips,a Russian Orthodox priest, and the BBC's former Moscow correspondent, Ma...

In a special edition of Beyond Belief Ernie Rea discusses the morality of the battlefield and the treatment of civilians in armed conflict. Increasingly news reports detail the casualties of civilians caught up in fighting in many countries around the world. Are we witnessing something new as civilians are targeted or used as shields by rebel forces and opposing armies or has this always happened?...

The story of Ram and Sita - told in the Hindu epic, the Ramayan - is known to every Hindu and - more indirectly - to the millions who have seen the film Slumdog Millionaire. The hero of the film, like Ram, takes control and conquers in adversity. The heroine - the love interest - is a passive figure , in need of rescue. There are around a million Hindus living in Britain and they take many of thei...

Ernie Rea and guests discuss religious responses to economic inequality.

Ernie Rea is joined by three prominent Baptists: Dianne Tidball, Ruth Gouldbourne and Peter Morden to discuss the history of the Baptist Church and its significance today. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Baptist congregation in England and Baptists form the biggest Protestant denomination in the world but what do they stand for? Ernie's guests discuss the often bloody history of...

Ernie Rea explores the relationship between African churches, witchcraft & child abuse with expert guests: Pastor Mahele Tangata, pastor of a Congolese Church in North West London; Romain Matondo, Co-ordinator for the Congolese Family Centre; and Dr Richard Hoskins, an expert on witchcraft-based child abuse cases. The Metropolitan police reports that it has investigated 83 'faith based' child...

With escalating conflict in Syria and increasing concerns about the role of Muslim fundamentalism in the future of the country; Ernie Rea is joined by Syrian businessman Ammar Waqqaf, historian Emma Loosely and Lecturer in Islamic Studies Mustafa Baig to discuss the role of religion in Syria. Whilst the majority of the country's population are Sunni Muslims, President Bashar al-Assad's regime is A...

Ernie Rea is joined by sociologist Frank Furedi and theologians David Thomas and Simon Podmore to discuss the significance of fear in religious traditions. The programme will consider the theology of fear and explore how religions have made use of fear and responded to it throughout the ages. It will also look at how our fears have changed in the modern world and whether religions have played down...

Ernie Rea explores the relationship between religion and depression with expert guests: Sabnum Dharamsi, a Muslim; Dr John Swinton, a Christian; and Ed Halliwell, a Buddhist. They look at what different religious traditions teach us about the experience of sadness and despair; how having a religious faith can be a source of support for some people suffering from depression; but they also consider...

When asked to defend their belief in a Creator God, people of faith often turn to the argument that there must be a First Cause - you can't create something out of nothing they say, therefore right at the beginning, someone must have been responsible for the first element from which sprang life. A new book, "A Universe from Nothing", by the American theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, turns thi...

In today's "Beyond Belief" Ernie Rea and guests discuss the religious foundations and functions of monarchy. Can monarchy be divorced from its religious underpinnings and, if not, what place does it have in a secular society? Is it a symbol of unity or division in multi cultural Britain? Joining Ernie to discuss the Monarchy are Philip Blond, Director of Res Publica; Symon Hill, Associate Director...

Ernie Rea in conversation with guests about the place of faith in today's complex world.

This is the most important week in the Christian Year when Christians commemorate what they regard as the central event in human history, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross, an excruciating form of torture carried out by the Romans. Today the cross is commonly used as a fashion item - not a symbol of death, but of consumerism. It can still cause offence; some Chris...

The Government is seeking to speed up the adoption process for the growing number of children being taken into care in the UK. Social workers responsible for the difficult job of matching children with adoptive parents are often criticised for focusing too much on questions of ethnicity or lifestyle. So how far should religion play a factor in the process which links children and parents? Ernie Re...

Nigeria is in crisis. Thousands of Nigerians have fled their homes following a spate of Islamist killings. The attacks have been carried out by a group calling itself Boko Haram which has demanded that Christians leave the North of the country where the majority population is Muslim. Christians have taken revenge by attacking mosques and Muslims living in the South. Nigeria is said to be one of th...

There are many communities of travelling people in Britain and there have been for generations. While most people accept their lifestyles, some in the settled communities regard them with a degree of suspicion, even as a people apart. Many travellers have a strong religious faith. Those of Irish origin tend to be Catholic; but an increasing number of travellers of Romany origin are joining Penteco...

For the last few years a group dubbed the New Atheists have been waging a verbal war against religion. The language they employ is unrestrained. The late Christopher Hitchens was fairly typical when he wrote in his book "God is not Great," "Religion comes from the bawling and fearful infancy of our species and is a babyish attempt to meet our insatiable demand for knowledge." Richard Dawkins has d...

The death in December of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's "Dear Leader" has focused the spotlight on the affairs of one of the world's most secretive states. Kim Jong Il - and his father before him - had assumed the status of demi-gods. To follow any other religion risked imprisonment or worse. In today's "Beyond Belief" Ernie Rea asks what the implications of Kim Jong Il's death might be for religious...

The Baha'i faith, though numerically small, claims to have a geographical reach second only to Christianity. It was founded in the nineteenth century in Iran, where its followers are now severely persecuted, and preaches the Unity of God, humanity and religion. Fidelma Meehan tells Ernie Rea how she was introduced to the faith by the comedian Omid Djalili. Ernie is joined by two Baha'i writers Moo...