Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief debates the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined by a panel to discuss how religious beliefs and traditions affect our values and perspectives.

The role of celibacy differs cross-culturally among religious traditions, with some insisting on it and others prohibiting it. Obligatory celibacy for Catholic priests in the West was introduced in 1130, yet in other traditions, such as Islam, marriage for their spiritual leaders is positively encouraged and celibacy, whilst not forbidden, is seen as second class. Is celibacy an essential requirement for real closeness to God or not? And given that it's basis is essentially cultural rather than theological, should celibacy be optional across religions?

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss celibacy across religions are Professor Carl Olsen, Prof of Religious Studies at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania, and Editor of the book, Celibacy and Religious Traditions; Dr Helen Costigane SHCJ, member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, who teaches Canon Law and Christian Ethics at Heythrop College, University of London, and Sheikh Michael Mumisa, Islamic scholar at the University of Cambridge.

Beyond Belief debates the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined by a panel to discuss how religious beliefs and traditions affect our values and perspectives.

It's 200 years since the birth of the Scottish missionary, David Livingstone. His legacy was to shape missionary work in Africa and elsewhere, right through to the present day. His supporters point to the medical and educational advances Christian missions have brought whilst his detractors talk about the oppression of colonialism. Today African missionaries are being sent to the UK.

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss Livingstone's legacy are Paul Lloyd, Senior Pastor of the Victory Outreach Church; Cyprian Yobera, an Anglican Minister in Salford and Dr Jack Thompson, Honorary Fellow at the School of Divinity, the University of Edinburgh.

Beyond Belief debates the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined by a panel to discuss how religious beliefs and traditions affect our values and perspectives.

The Queen is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her Coronation on 2nd June 1953. The Coronation is an occasion for pageantry and celebration, but it is also a solemn religious ceremony. The form and wording have varied over the centuries. Today, the Sovereign undertakes to rule according to law, to exercise justice with mercy, and to maintain the Church of England.

Ernie and his guests will be considering the spiritual elements of the ceremony, asking whether both the wording and the solely Christian emphasis are appropriate in today's multi-faith society.

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the role of religion in the Coronation ceremony are Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin who is both a chaplain to the Queen and Speaker's Chaplain in the House of Commons, as well as vicar to two inner city parishes in Hackney; Martin Palmer, Church Historian and Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education & Culture and Symon Hill, an Associate of Ekklesia, a Christian thinktank which explores the role of religion in public life.

Beyond Belief debates the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined by a panel to discuss how religious beliefs and traditions affect our values and perspectives.

In Edinburgh a modern festival has grown up around the ancient pagan festival of Beltane, traditionally marked on May 1st, where fires are lit. But does fire have both negative and positive connotations across all religions? Is it always viewed as potentially transforming as well as destructive?

In today's programme, Ernie Rea is joined by Alan Williams, Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester; Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at Bristol University and Canon Loveday Alexander, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield, to discuss the role of fire within religion and its symbolism today.

Beyond Belief debates the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined by a panel to discuss how religious beliefs and traditions affect our values and perspectives.

Pope Francis is the first Pope from a religious order for 200 years. Many were surprised by his appointment. But what will his Jesuit formation give him as he grapples with the many complex issues facing the Catholic Church, including child abuse and infighting, including what some view as corruption, within the Vatican itself?

In the first of a new series, Ernie Rea discusses the Jesuits, with panellists Brendan Callaghan SJ, Master of Campion Hall, Oxford; Michael Barnes SJ, Professor of Interreligious Relations at Heythrop College, University of London and Catherine Pepinster, Editor of The Tablet.

When Justin Welby was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury there were two things we quickly learned about him. The first was that he has a business head on him and used to work in the oil industry - that's significant for a country grappling with issues of financial morality.

The second was that he is an Evangelical - that's important for the wider Anglican church which is battling splits between evangelicals and liberals over the issue of homosexuality - and for the church of England where there's an internal debate among Evangelicals about the very meaning of that term.

Joining Ernie to discuss Evangelicals, especially within an Anglican context are the Rev Dr Rob Munroe, who is a member of the Anglican evangelical group, Reform: Vicky Beeching, a Theologian and Visiting Research Fellow at Durham University ; and Jonathan Bartley, co-director of the think tank Ekklesia.

Addiction to alcohol costs the UK around £22 billion per annum in health, welfare, social care and prison costs. The expectation is that more than 200,000 people will die prematurely in this country of alcohol related liver disease in the next 20 years. Is addiction a disease or does it signify an absence of will power? Alcoholics Anonymous famously claims that the cycle of addiction can only be broken by surrendering to a higher power. So is a spiritual approach to the problem effective?

Joining Ernie to discuss the spiritual dimension to alcohol addiction and its treatment are Mike Williams, General Director of Stauros Foundation, a Christian Charity which offers fellowship to people suffering or recovering from addiction; Maia Szalavitz a neuro-science journalist with Time.com; and Dr Wendy Dossett Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at Chester University who has just completed a Research Project on Spirituality and Addiction.

Restorative Justice schemes are increasingly playing a role within the Criminal Justice System. They are designed to confront the criminal with the consequences of his or her actions. Sometimes they involve a meeting between the victim and the offenders, where victims can give their perspective on what has happened and offenders can seek forgiveness.

Many religious groups believe that Restorative Justice principles resonate with their traditions.

Joining Ernie to discuss Restorative Justice are Pavan Dhilowal, Head of Public Affairs at the British Humanist Society and former policy head at a think tank specialising in criminal justice; Khola Hassan, Media Representative at the Islamic Sharia Council; and Tim Newell former Governor of Grendon, a therapeutic prison.

The revelation that horse meat has found its way into supermarket products, and that Muslim prisoners have been fed meals containing pork has highlighted again the way food is produced and animals treated.

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the place of animals in the religions of East and West are Shimon Cohen, Director of Shechita UK, an organisation which defends the Jewish method of slaughtering animals for food; Barbara Gardner, a trustee of the RSPCA and author of The Compassionate Animal; and Shaunaka Rishi Das a Vaisnav priest from the Oxford Centre of Hindu Studies.

As the bill to allow same sex marriage makes its way through Parliament, Ernie Rea and guests discuss whether homosexuality is compatible with Islam. The Muslim Council of Britain has voiced its opposition, but what does the Koran say about homosexuality - is the prohibition unequivocal and absolute?

Ernie's guests are Ibrahim Mogra, one of Britain's leading Imams; Pav Akhtar, Muslim politician and the director of UK Black Pride and Islamic scholar and Secretary of the Charity "Scriptural Reasoning" Sheikh Dr Muhammed al-Hussaini,.