Mona Siddiqui and guests hear from Rev Denzil Larbi. He reflects on his cousin, Elianne Andam, who was 15 when she was fatally stabbed at a bus stop in Croydon, South London, in September 2023. He discusses their Christmases together and how the family mark Christmas without her.

The panel of guests explore the complexities that often come with religious festivals especially those that come with an expectation of jollity.

Do religions do enough for those who are grieving or isolated at times of collective merriment? Should religious leaders and communities be more responsible and nuanced in their approach? And, are some religions better at dealing with grief than others?

To discuss Mona is joined by Jasvir Singh, from the Department of Theology and Religion at Birmingham University, Chair of City Sikhs, and the founder and Chair of the British Sikh Report, the Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James's, Piccadilly, and Priest-in-Charge of St Pancras's Church, Euston Road, and Remona Aly, British Muslim journalist, commentator and broadcaster with a focus on faith, identity and lifestyle.

Producer: Alexa Good

The Rev Tara Hellings, an Anglican vicar, outlines her experiences of conducting funerals at a Pet Crematorium in Winchfield, and Nurul Ain Abdul Hamid, a Muslim who runs a dog and cat shelter in Malaysia, shares her beliefs on the equality of all animals.

Do animals have souls? Are all animals equal? And, how do these concepts feed into religious teachings about animals in the afterlife?

To discuss, Giles is joined by Anuradha Dooney, a Fellow of the Oxford Centre Hindu Studies, Fr Terry Martin, a vegan and Catholic priest, and author of the new book 'Animals in Heaven?' and Joyce D'Silva, Compassion in World Farming's Ambassador Emeritus and the author of ‘Animal Welfare in World Religion: Teaching and Practice’.

Producer: Alexa Good

Imam Asim Hafiz, the first Muslim chaplain to the British Armed Forces and an Islamic advisor for the Ministry of Defence, who has been working with the armed forces since 2004 discusses the many changes which have seen attitudes towards his role shifting according to the political climate and Mandeep Kaur, who was appointed as the first and only Sikh Chaplain for the entire British Armed Forces, reflects on why the idea of military chaplaincy may seem like a difficult job to take on and the impact of the role within faith communities.

There are approximately 260 regular and 58 reserve chaplains across the armed forces. They serve personnel dealing with the pressures of being away from home, working in hostile environments and dealing with life and death decisions. How has the service evolved to support the broad range of beliefs represented in the armed forces? And how can religious belief really be balanced with the very real possibility of military action leading to loss of life?

To discuss Giles is joined by Roger Hutton, President of Defence Humanists and former Ministry of Defence Director International Security, Dr. Sunil Kariyakarawana, the first Buddhist Chaplain to the British Armed Forces, and the Revd Joanna Jepson, an Anglican priest and a Chaplain to the British Army.

Producers: Alexa Good and Linda Walker

Giles Fraser meets Stephen Schneck, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, to explore the impact of globalisation on religious freedom.

Restrictions on religious freedom are increasing. What impact has the spread of religious traditions had on freedom of belief? How does the secularisation of religion contribute? Should states be forced to adopt norms of religious rights and freedoms to meet international pressure? And what can be done about the perceived threat communities feel when they are exposed to other religions?

To discuss Giles is joined by HRH Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the UK, Dr Nazila Ghanea, an Iranian-born Professor in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford and UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, an exiled Nicaraguan politician and economist.

Producer: Alexa Good

In her poem 'God's Garden', Dorothy Frances Gurney writes:

'One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

Join Giles Fraser and a panel of green-fingered guests as they gather together at the Aga Khan Centre in Kings Cross to reflect on the theological significance of gardens and gardening.

From Eden and Gethsemane, to the ancient Islamic gardens of Andalusia, to the Japanese Gardens of Zen Buddhism; temples to churchyards, these sacred zones have been places of solace and reflection for millennia; places of life and death, of peace and tranquillity.

Our panellists are Dr Omar Ali de Unzaga - Head of Ismaili Studies at the Aga Khan Centre, Revd Lucy Winkett - Rector at St James' Church in Piccadilly, and Ai Hishii - Director of Japanese garden architects, Momiji Design.

*You can visit the Islamic Gardens at the Aga Khan Centre for free - book online.

Presenter: Giles Fraser

Giles Fraser explores the parallels and overlaps between spirituality/religion and psychotherapy.

Professor Josh Cohen is a psychotherapist, who believes that God can be a problematic figure in the therapy room.

Joining the discussion with Giles is Dr Jeremy Holmes, British Psychiatrist and author of -The Spirit of Psychotherapy- which examines the parallels, contrasts, and overlaps between the secular world of psychotherapy and the realm of spirituality. Dr Rania Awaad; Stanford University Professor, Psychiatry, Islamic Law & Theology. And Canon Leanne Roberts; Church of England priest and psychotherapist (Jungian) Dean of Clergy well-being for the Diocese of Southwark.

In 2023 the NHS recorded 1.76 million referrals to their talking therapies programme in England. The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy say their membership has risen by 27% since 2020. However, you can now access services from therapists within Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and many more of the faiths.

Can therapeutic models replace religion as a way of exploring and understanding our inner worlds? Is religion an awkward spectre in a therapy room? What’s the difference between religion as something dealt with dispassionately and a therapist who bills themselves as a religious psychotherapist ?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted & Bara'atu Ibrahim

Giles Fraser hears about the revolutionary ideas of late theologian Jürgen Moltmann, whose work challenged and transformed Christian ideas of God in the twentieth century.

Hamburg, July 1943. The combined might of the Allies rains bombs down on the city causing a catastrophic firestorm. A young German anti-aircraft bomber cries out to God in the midst of devastation. He would go on to be one of the most important Christian theologians of the twentieth century.

Giles Fraser recounts how he first started to develop his ideas at a Prisoner of War camp in Scotland after the Second World War. His books, including The Theology of Hope and The Crucified God would go on to be seminal works for those studying Christianity, but would also have far-reaching influence. He also wrote about liberating those oppressed, ecology and the environment and feminism.

Joining Giles to discuss why his work matters is Professor Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Ceter for Faith and Culture, who knew Moltmann as a PHD supervisor and friend. Also on the panel are Professor Candida Moss and Professor Celia Deane-Drummond.

Does God suffer, as we suffer and what difference does this make to faith and belief?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted

Giles Fraser explores the place of wine in some religious traditions, as the blood of Christ, the nectar of the Greek Gods or Persian poets, to something forbidden or proscribed.

We start on a balmy evening in Napa Valley, with a sea breeze blowing through the vines at Marinda Kruger's vineyard. For her, life as a viticulturalist has an intimate connection to her faith.

Gisela H Kreglinger, theologian from a wine-making family, Catholic Priest, Father Marc Lyden-Smith and Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, translator of the Persian Sufi poets under the moniker Persian Poetics on social media, join Giles to consider the pleasures and prohibition of wine.

Many scriptures and religious poetry are awash with the stuff. Wine flows in heaven, goblets elicit a kind of spiritual ecstasy and Noah's first act after the flood? To plant a vineyard. What has been wine's significance in different religious traditions, and what does our relationship to it reveal about our earthly selves?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted

This programme includes a short clip of Silvestre Le Trouzel reading from Babette's Feast, recorded for BBC Radio 4's Bedtime Stories and first broadcast in 2016. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.

Street evangelist Marios Kaikitis tells Giles Fraser why he stands on Leicester Square with a sketch board trying to engage passers by with his message of Jesus Christ.

And Giles explores how different religious groups, within Christianity and Islam, evangelise today. Perhaps crucially, does it work?

He's joined by Daryl A Watson, a mission leader at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, Dr Shuruq Naguib, a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Lancaster University and Reverend Dr Hannah Steele, Director of St Mellitus theological college in London, who writes about evangelism and mission today.

They discuss the practical, moral and spiritual issues faced by those who want or feel compelled to share their religious beliefs with others. In an increasingly secular country, it it getting more difficult?

Producer: Rebecca Maxted

Recorded live at the Bradford Literature Festival three poets join Giles Fraser to consider the relationship between poetry and the divine.

Some of our most feted poets, from Rumi to John Donne, Tagore to William Blake – have found that poetry opens up a space to explore the divine. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare praised the poet’s eye, glancing ‘from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven’ as ‘imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown’.

In front of a live audience, a fascinating panel of contemporary poets and wordsmiths join Giles to discuss whether poetry can help bridge the gap between the physical and metaphysical worlds. Camille Ralphs, Testament and Kate Fox consider how their forebears have used words to try and climb spiritual ascents. Reading some of their own work, they’ll also share their own relationships between art and faith.

Producer: Rebecca Maxted