Sunday

Ed Stourton and guests, from the Middle East and the UK, reflect on the start of the Gaza Ceasefire. Pope Francis has brought out a memoir - "the first by a sitting pontiff" according to the publishers. Two Catholic writers with contrasting views on Francis’ papacy review the book for us. And the American Evangelical leader Franklin Graham speaks to ‘Sunday’ ahead of his prominent role at Donald T...

This week France marked the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had a history of lampooning Muslim leaders, including the prophet Mohammed. To discuss the long term impact of these events we are joined by Nabila Ramdani, a writer and commentator known for her strong views on the position of Muslims in France. ‘Nobody Wants This’ is a lauded...

The six days of public ceremony to mark the passing of former President Jimmy Carter are underway in the US. Emily Buchanan hears from David Coffey, former General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain about the importance of Mr Carter's faith to his Presidency and life out of office. Among those honoured by the King at New Year is Gordon Hay from Aberdeenshire. He tells Sunday about why...

In this last ‘Sunday’ of the year, Emily Buchanan looks back at 2024 and forward to 2025. 2024 has been a record breaking year for one of the world's busiest pilgrimage routes - the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The rising numbers of pilgrims, as well as the soaring summer temperatures, mean more people are considering ‘coolcation’ pilgrim trails in countries like Norway. Will they ca...

As Christmas draws near, this week’s Sunday brings the latest religious stories shaping the news agenda. Pope Francis is about to release his autobiography – the first by any pontiff. Among its revelations is a startling account of how UK intelligence foiled an assassination plot during his 2021 visit to Iraq. Colm Flynn, who accompanied the Pope on that trip, shares his insights into the dramatic...

The people of Syria have been celebrating again this weekend, with many protestors outside the largest mosque in Damascus deriding the former president, Bashar al-Assad, as a "Zombie". With a sense of relief that Assad is now gone, there is anxiety too about what might follow. William Crawley explores how the new regime will affect the religious make up of the country with Makram Rabah, Assistant...

Notre-Dame is reopening to the public after 5 years of renovation, following a devastating fire in 2019. But the cathedral is much more than a building - and many secular minded people in France would say that it's much more than a cathedral too. We hear from our Paris Correspondent, Hugh Schofield and commentator Agnes Poirier, author of "Notre Dame - the Soul of France". The Archbishop of Canter...

The Bishop of Newcastle who called for the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury talks to us about the price she's paid for rocking the boat. Friday's vote by MPs in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill was certainly historic. But did it also feel like a rejection of traditional religious values? We'll explore that claim on today's Sunday with broadcaster Mark Mardell and Director of Theos Chin...

After a tumultuous week in the Church of England, Emily Buchanan looks at the legacy that Justin Welby will leave behind, how the church can stamp out abuse in future, and what's needed from the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Plus, an interview with Robert Harris, author of Conclave, on the Oscar-tipped movie of the same name.

In this week’s US election, Donald Trump secured the backing of 80% of white evangelical Christian voters. We hear insights from Rev. Robert M. Franklin, Jr., a senior fellow at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals. John Smyth ran Christian summer camps in Dorset during the 1970s and 1980s. His “horrific” and violent abuse...

Edward Stourton presents a special US edition of 'Sunday' from Atlanta, in which he reports on the religious vote from the Bible Belt battleground state of Georgia. With unique access to a broad spectrum of faith communities, he gets analysis on the role of religion in the election. Producers: Dan Tierney (in Atlanta) Catherine Murray Peter Everett Saba Zaman Studio managers: Amy Brennon John Cole...

This week, a further 1,100 prisoners were released early to ease the prison overcrowding crisis. We explore how faith groups are supporting ex-prisoners trying to move on with their lives. We join the ‘Nuns on the Bus’ - a group of Catholic sisters and interfaith partners who recently toured the US ahead of the election, encouraging people to be ‘multi-issue voters.’ With the first vote on the Ass...

Suspected victims of modern slavery are waiting years before their cases are dealt with, whilst waiting for a Home Office decision. On Friday, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Philips announced that the Home Office will hire 200 staff to clear a backlog of UK modern slavery cases. Sunday hears from Major Kathy Betteridge the Director of Anti Trafficking and Moder...

Edward Stourton is in the chair with a debate on what to do with empty churches, as the Church of England blocks plans to allow one in Stoke-on-Trent to become a mosque. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom - an organ of the Federal government based in Washington - has published a report on the Chinese government's efforts to control the country's religions including rep...

As Hezbollah confirms the death of its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut, hear about the religion and politics behind Hezbollah from Fawaz Gerges - Professor of International Relations and Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the LSE. And William talks to Myriam Shwayri from the Al-Khafat Foundation about efforts to evacuate disabled adults and children from areas affected...

Four senior Church of England bishops have accused Israel of acting above the law in the West Bank. In a letter sent to The Observer newspaper, they have called on the UN to move beyond strongly worded resolutions and they say there is little distinction between state and settlor violence. The bishops say the letter has been prompted by the forceful dispossession of a Christian family from their a...

The French Catholic Church has said it will open its files on Abbé Pierre, the priest regarded as something like a modern saint until allegations of sexual harrassment and assault were made against him. The Abbé, who died in 2007, was revered for his pioneering work in setting up Emmaus International which cared for homeless and poor people. Edward speaks to the Paris-based writer Andrew Hussey ab...

Pupils in England start the new term this week, but will schools ensure that tensions from the riots don't make it into the classroom? We hear from one pupil who was worried about leaving her house after violence erupted on her street in Liverpool and from a headteacher making his school a safe place to talk about anxiety, misinformation and racism. Hear from the Hijabi sex educators helping Musli...

The word ‘church’ was not used to describe hundreds of new Church of England congregations, initiatives and community groups set up over the last decade. Research by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research, at Cranmer Hall, Durham, found that in the past ten years, around 900 so-called “new things” have been started in 11 dioceses. But none of the dioceses used the term “church” as it...

President Zelensky takes the counterattack on Russia to another front with a bid to outlaw the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian Orthodox Church next week. We're asking how your place of worship is tryng to go green? Is it heatpumps or retrofitting? Were there battles on the way? It comes as Emily hears the story of St John's Church in Waterloo which went through court battles and massive bills in the q...

The language around the attempted assassination of Donald Trump as divine intervention or miraculous and the consequence naming of him in Republican circles as 'God's anointed one' has brought into focus the key role of religion in US politics. How do Trump and his followers use religion and why did he pick a recent convert to Catholicism to be his VP? We speak to Lauren Kerby, Visiting Fellow in...

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

With less than two weeks to go until the UK heads to the polls in the general election, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has once again affirmed how his Hindu faith helps him stay strong, while Keir Starmer has pledged to work with faith communities if he is elected, despite not being a person of faith himself. So does it matter where a Prime Minister stands on faith? Joining us to discuss the issue...

As politicians promise to make us richer, our panellists – Rt Rev David Walker, Quassim Cassam, Seeta Suchak and David Landrum - take a moral approach to the party manifestos. The campaigner against forced marriage, Jasvinder Sanghera, who has just been made a dame, tells her own astonishing story. And a medieval historian, Hannah Skoda, explains why women with beards were considered holy. Present...

The world’s first Sikh court opened recently in the UK. Campaigner Pragna Patel of Project Resist has called it ‘a threat to women’s rights’. The barristers behind the court argue that it’s a way of plugging a gap in the legal system that’s desperately needed. Pragna and Sharan Bachu, Lead Family Judge at the Sikh Court, debate the issues. The leading Protestant theologian, Jürgen Moltmann, died t...