Beyond Belief

The Scottish Premier League season is well underway with memories of the sectarian attacks on the Celtic manager earlier in the year still fresh in the mind. What do these incidents tell us about the nature and extent of sectarianism in Scotland today? Is it confined mainly to football or is it endemic within wider society? With church attendance in rapid decline, is religion still a potent force in reinforcing sectarian attitudes? And - even given their diminished influence - what role do the churches have in countering such attitudes?

Joining Ernie to discuss sectarianism in contemporary Scotland are Peter Kearney, a spokesperson for the Catholic Church in Scotland, Michael Rosie, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Edinburgh University and Harry Reid, former editor of The Herald and member of the Church of Scotland.

We were told that Globalisation would kill off religion. In fact, the vast majority of the world's population continues to maintain religious beliefs and practice. So how does Globalisation affect Religion? Does the spread of religion across national boundaries mean that its universal elements will develop at the expense of the national and particular? Is there a danger that faith and culture might become separated from one another? And can faith communities help to mitigate the worst effects of globalisation?

Ernie Rea is joined by Martin Palmer from the Alliance of Religion, Conservation and the Environment, Dr Sara Silvestri from City University, London, and Adrian Wooldridge a columnist with The Economist and the co-author of the book "God is Back.".

The idea of the Sabbath, a communal day off every week, has been all but taken over by Sunday opening and the 24/7 society. In "Beyond Belief" Ernie Rea asks what society has gained and lost as a result of this change. Sports Commentator Dan Walker tells him why he refuses to work on a Sunday, and he is joined by Rabbi Naftali Brawer, Sam Barker of the Relationships Foundation and Keep Sunday Special Campaign, and Philip Booth from the Institute of Economic Affairs.

According to recent research, a Christian couple in Britain has only a 50 percent chance of transmitting their beliefs and practice to their children. If a child has just one Christian parent the chance is 25 per cent. Why is it so difficult for parents to pass on their faith? And do grandparents and parents in minority faith communities face the same problems when it comes to transmitting their religious beliefs and values across the Generational Divide?

Ernie Rea's guests in Beyond Belief today are Professor David Voas from Manchester University, Sadek Hamid a researcher into Muslim youth, and the Rabbi and Baroness, Julia Neuberger.

If there is one idea on which David Cameron has staked the reputation of his government it is the Big Society, and he has stressed the role he believes faith groups have to play in it. Their reaction has, however, been mixed with the Archbishop of Canterbury describing it as a "stale slogan" in danger of being seen as an opportunistic cover for spending cuts. So what is the Big Society, and are its values consistent with religious values? Ernie is joined by Phillip Blond, Director of the Think Tank Respublica and widely credited as being the originator of the government's Big Society idea, Maleiha Malik, Professor in Law at King's College, London: and Antony Lerman, former founding director of the Institute of Jewish Policy Research.

Christianity is a Middle Eastern Religion. Its early expansion was Eastwards and it quickly became the dominant religion of the region. That changed with the arrival of Islam but Christians have always had a significant presence. But during the last century Christians began leaving the Middle East in large numbers.

Sometimes it was because they were more able to take up the opportunities the West offered; sometimes it was because they felt less able to express their faith under growing political Islam. In this programme Ernie Rea asks how the events of the Arab Spring will affect the fortunes of Christians in the Middle East. He is joined by Nadim Nassar, a Syrian and Anglican priest, Professor Madawi al-Rasheed from Kings College London, and Ziya Meral, fellow of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Producer Rosie Dawson.

In the first of a new series, Ernie Rea and guests discuss the Christian understanding of Hell.

Hell appears in several mythologies and religions as a place of suffering and punishment after death, but it is Christianity which has lent it its most vivid imagery. The Christian understanding of hell grew out of the Jewish concept of Sheol, a shadowy abode of the dead. Jesus used graphic images to describe hell which were further elaborated by the early church wrestling under persecution with the question of how a Just God could permit such suffering. That the Evil will be eternally punished was one answer to this dilemma, although there has always been a minority strain within Christianity arguing that eternal hell is incompatible with the workings of a loving God.

Joining Ernie to discuss hell are the Catholic writer and commentator, Peter Stanford, lecturer in patristic theology at Exeter University, Morwenna Ludlow, and lecturer at Oakhill theological college Daniel Strange.

In the last in the current series, Ernie Rea invites guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives to debate the challenges of today's world.

Each week a panel is assembled to represent a diversity of views and opinions, which often reveal hidden, complex and sometimes contradictory understandings of the world around us.

In this programme Ernie and guests discuss ways in which individuals have sought immortality either through belief in eternal life with God or through ever ingenious scientific methods. Why do human beings appear to want to believe in some sort of life after death? How is the meaning of this life shaped by a belief in the hereafter or a knowledge of endless existence? Are we ultimately creatures shaped by the destiny of our own death?

Joining Ernie to discuss immortality are the philosopher, John Gray, author of The Immortalisation Commission: science and the strange quest to cheat death; the theologian, Alister McGrath, professor of theology, ministry and education, and head of the centre for theology, religion and culture at King's College, London and the psychologist, Les Lancaster, professor of transpersonal psychology at Liverpool John Moores University.

Producer: Karen Maurice.

Ernie Rea invites guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives to debate the challenges of today's world.

Each week a panel is assembled to represent a diversity of views and opinions, which often reveal hidden, complex and sometimes contradictory understandings of the world around us.

In this programme Ernie Rea and guests discuss male spirituality and ask if men and women respond differently to religious convictions. Do the leaders and prophets of the Hebrew scriptures offer role models for men going to church or synagogue today? Are the characters of Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon suitable and appropriate role models? For Christians, does Jesus and his selection of 12 male apostles offer an image for brotherhood today? Is the church focusing too much on love and nurture rather than courage, risk, adventure and sacrifice? Why are Jewish communities seemingly more successful at retaining men compared with their Christian counterparts?

Joining Ernie to discuss men and spirituality are the Reverend Andy Drake, director of evangelism at Christian Vision for Men; Dr Janet Eccles, a sociologist of religion attached to the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at the University of Lancaster; and Rabbi Dr Dan Cohn Sherbok, Emeritus Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Producer: Karen Maurice.

Ernie Rea chairs Radio 4's discussion programme in which guests from different faith and non-faith perspectives debate the challenges of today's world.

Each week a panel is assembled to represent a diversity of views and opinions, which often reveal hidden, complex and sometimes contradictory understandings of the world around us.

In this programme, Ernie discusses the role and place of nuns in religious communities. How have they changed in recent years and how have they coped with a serious decline in vocations? Is there a similar decline within other faith communities?

Joining Ernie to discuss nuns are Myra Poole, a Sister of Notre Dame who is very involved with the movement for Catholic Women's Ordination; Rosanne Reddy, Sister of the Gospel of Life, a comparatively new order which she founded along with Cardinal Thomas Winning in 2000: and Lama Zangmo, a Buddhist nun and Director of the Kagyu Samya Dzong Buddhist Centre in London.

Producer: Karen Maurice.