The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

It's 40 years since the Philippine People's Revolution  It was a revolution where barely a shot was fired. Nuns armed with rosary beads helped lead millions of Filipinos in peaceful demonstrations that, 40 years ago, brought down the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.   Ringing in the ears of the people was the voice of a soft-spoken archbishop who urged them to topple a corrupt and increasingly brutal re...

Australia is a country where meat is our national icon — we commune around the barbie and love our meat pies.  Yet, we also have some of the oldest vegetarian societies and earliest western animal cruelty laws.  In the place of The World Today on Good Friday, James Carleton from Radio National’s God Forbid philosopher Professor Rachel Ankeny , author Edgar Crook and theologian Professor David Clou...

In the near future, artificial intelligence could do the thinking, and a robotic combination of human and machine do the lifting.  But it’s a potentially dystopic scenario – the poor, the weak, and those who simply believe in humanity as nature intended could be abandoned.  These are just some of major ethical challenges posed by so-called transhumanism.  GUEST: Professor JASON EBERL is a bioethic...

Each Easter, we bring you stories from places where war and other disasters can try people’s faith but where, despite great despair, their religious beliefs survive. ASUNTHA CHARLES has worked with the faith-based aid organisation World Vision in Afghanistan under the Taliban and Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, where 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims fled the military regime in Myanmar/Burma.  She was in A...

In the near future, artificial intelligence could do the thinking, and a robotic combination of human and machine do the lifting. But it’s a potentially dystopic scenario – the poor, the weak, and those who simply believe in humanity as nature intended could be abandoned. These are just some of major ethical challenges posed by so-called transhumanism. Professor JASON EBERL is a bioethicist at St...

There may be a complex challenge for the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Some Brits are claiming Christian identity with a more politicised and dubious intention in mind. Madeleine Davies of the Church Times has been investigating the recent fervour  behind the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ movement and the response of the Church of England. Plus Donald Trump has always found cheerleaders in the heartland of...

In the aftermath of the Bondi massacre of 15 mostly Jewish people celebrating Hannukah, state and federal governments have passed hate speech laws. They're part of an effort to build social cohesion in a country scarred recently by growing antisemitism and other forms of religious hatred.   But does banning phrases such as "from the river to the sea" — used usually when supporting a Palestinian st...

In the aftermath of the Bondi massacre, state and federal governments have passed hate speech laws to help build social cohesion. But does banning phrases promote cohesion? Can any law mandate unity? Also in this episode, Christian Democrats in the US are making a major pitch to win religious votes. Will they pose a significant threat to Donald Trump at upcoming midterm elections? GUESTS: Kieran H...

Christian Democrats in the US are making a major pitch to win religious votes. Even with growing secularism, the US still has a big Christian majority and, for 40 years, Democrats have struggled to win their trust. But ahead of congressional elections in November, several white protestant clergy have announced they're running for the Democrats. One state politician and seminarian, James Talarico,...

Donald Trump found enthusiastic cheerleaders not only in the American Midwest but also the historic heartland of Europe.  He spawned imitation movements across the continent, powered by a fear that Christian Europe was being lost to mass immigration.  But the president’s war on Iran and his aggressive foreign and trade policies are unnerving European parties that were once allies.  GUEST: THOMAS F...

The enthronement of Dame Sarah Mullaly as the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury comes amid a lot of talk about a quiet revival in British Christianity.  While there is evidence – anecdotal and data – of this rise in people in the pews, the spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans faces a more complex challenge.  Some British people are claiming a Christian identity with political, a...

As Israel and the United States continue their war with Iran, even promising to assassinate the new and hardline ayatollah, Pope Leo has emerged as a champion of international law. He’s called for an immediate ceasefire. Tens of millions of people maybe hearing him, but does the leadership in Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran care? Leo understands the brutal history of Iran’s regime, but he’s worri...

As Israel and the United States continue their war with Iran, even promising to assassinate the new and hardline ayatollah, Pope Leo has emerged as a champion of international law. He’s called for an immediate ceasefire.  Tens of millions of people maybe hearing him, but does the leadership in Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran care?  Leo understands the brutal history of Iran’s regime, but he’s wor...

The bookshelves of the Dalai Lama are groaning with awards for peace and justice work, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But he recently added a more unusual accolade – a Grammy award for the best spoken-word book recording.  It’s another example of how religion and popular culture are deeply enmeshed.  Research by the US-based Faith and Media Initiative suggests audiences, including those with no...

This week, as part of the ABC’s look at the persistence of antisemitism in Australia and the world, the Religion and Ethics team partnered with ABC TV and Big Ideas here on Radio National.  In a special episode of Big Ideas, we explored the religious roots of anti-Jewish prejudice because certain Christian and Muslim texts have been manipulated to fit political ideologies.  A key turning point cam...

Acclaimed journalist Robin Wright of The New Yorker covered Iran from the start of the 1979 revolution, which brought the first ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, to power.  She’s sceptical that the United States and Israel can bring change through aerial bombardment. GUEST  Robin Wright of The New Yorker

Donald Trump says he’s liberated the people of Iran to forge their own future, after killing their autocratic leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But as the bombing continues and any organised resistance struggles to emerge, is this ethnically diverse land, with thousands of years of history, at risk of breaking up or descending into sectarian division?  Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas...

As the regime in Iran fell, a handful of Shia Muslim communities in Australia went into mourning for the Ayatollah, drawing criticism from New South Wales premier Chris Minns. Khamenei was a brutal autocrat, but he was also a spiritual leader to many Shi’ites. Is it the role of the state to decide who a religious community can mourn?   Guest Dr Renae Barker Senior Lecturer, UWA Law School 

Donald Trump says he’s liberated the people of Iran to forge their own future, after killing their autocratic leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But as the bombing continues and any organised resistance struggles to emerge, is this ethnically diverse land, with thousands of years of history, at risk of breaking up or descending into sectarian division? Nahid Siamdoust of the University of Texas s...

As Australia begins its royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, new research by the Pew Centre shows we’re one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. There’s no longer a majority religion, meaning many faiths have found a place. It’s a finding that might surprise those who expected that much bigger countries, such as the United States or India, might claim the titl...

When, and why, does criticism of Israel often descend into antisemitic tropes?  How do you build a free Palestine and a secure, truly democratic Israel?  Guardian columnist Jonathon Freedland has spent a quarter of century making the case for Jewish and Palestinian partnership. He’s also the author of a new book about resisters in Nazi Germany, titled The Traitors’ Circle .  Jonathon's in Australi...

As Australia begins its royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, new research by the Pew Centre shows we’re one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world.  There’s no longer a majority religion, meaning many faiths have found a place.  It’s a finding that might surprise those who expected that much bigger countries, such as the United States or India, might claim the ti...

Buried in the latest tranche of documents about the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein is an extraordinary exchange of emails. They involve Epstein and the one-time adviser to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon. They discuss a plot to bring down the late Pope Francis. Bannon had long disliked Francis, but these emails suggest a deepening conspiracy. Claire Giangrave has been studying the emails.  P...

Newly released files from the US Department of Justice suggest that Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser to US President Donald Trump, discussed strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis, with Bannon saying he hoped to “take down” the pontiff.

Professor Anthea Butler discusses the life and ministry of the Rev, Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who has died, aged 83. GUEST: Prof Anthea Butler is a civil rights historian and theologian from the University of Pennsylvania,