Beyond Belief

Ernie Rea and guests discuss religious responses to economic inequality.

Ernie Rea is joined by three prominent Baptists: Dianne Tidball, Ruth Gouldbourne and Peter Morden to discuss the history of the Baptist Church and its significance today. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Baptist congregation in England and Baptists form the biggest Protestant denomination in the world but what do they stand for? Ernie's guests discuss the often bloody history of the Baptists from their origins as a persecuted dissenting movement in the seventeenth century. And they consider what Baptists contribute to Britain today. Are they still a voice of protest, speaking out for justice and for religious freedom?

Ernie Rea explores the relationship between African churches, witchcraft & child abuse with expert guests: Pastor Mahele Tangata, pastor of a Congolese Church in North West London; Romain Matondo, Co-ordinator for the Congolese Family Centre; and Dr Richard Hoskins, an expert on witchcraft-based child abuse cases. The Metropolitan police reports that it has investigated 83 'faith based' child abuse cases involving witchcraft in the last ten years. A belief in witchcraft is common to some traditional African religions and to some elements of Christianity; but accusing children of witchcraft seems a comparatively modern phenomenon. Where does it come from? What can be done to prevent it? And are the churches concerned doing enough?

Producer: Charlotte Simpson.

With escalating conflict in Syria and increasing concerns about the role of Muslim fundamentalism in the future of the country; Ernie Rea is joined by Syrian businessman Ammar Waqqaf, historian Emma Loosely and Lecturer in Islamic Studies Mustafa Baig to discuss the role of religion in Syria. Whilst the majority of the country's population are Sunni Muslims, President Bashar al-Assad's regime is Alawite, a secretive branch of Shi'a Islam. So what has it meant for Syria to be governed by an elite religious minority? How are Syria's other minorities religions such as Christians, Druze and Sufis treated? How will religion affect the current crisis in Syria and what kind of society might Syria be once it is over?

Producer: Rosie Dawson.

Ernie Rea is joined by sociologist Frank Furedi and theologians David Thomas and Simon Podmore to discuss the significance of fear in religious traditions. The programme will consider the theology of fear and explore how religions have made use of fear and responded to it throughout the ages. It will also look at how our fears have changed in the modern world and whether religions have played down their teachings about hell and damnation in recent years. And how does fear affect morality? Are we responsible for crimes committed under the threat of reprisals? And are we to be congratulated for good deeds performed only as a response to the fear of negative consequences for ourselves if we don't behave?

Ernie Rea explores the relationship between religion and depression with expert guests: Sabnum Dharamsi, a Muslim; Dr John Swinton, a Christian; and Ed Halliwell, a Buddhist. They look at what different religious traditions teach us about the experience of sadness and despair; how having a religious faith can be a source of support for some people suffering from depression; but they also consider how religious communities don't always get it right.

When asked to defend their belief in a Creator God, people of faith often turn to the argument that there must be a First Cause - you can't create something out of nothing they say, therefore right at the beginning, someone must have been responsible for the first element from which sprang life.

A new book, "A Universe from Nothing", by the American theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, turns this argument on its head. Not only can something arise out of nothing, but something will always arise out of nothing because physics tells us that nothingness is inherently unstable.

The book has made an enormous impact in the States, making the New York Times' best sellers list, and it prompted Richards Dawkins to observe that it was "Potentially the most important scientific book with implications for atheism since Darwin".

So does it knock the argument for God on the head? Are physics and God irreconcilable?

Joining Ernie to discuss whether modern physics leaves any room for God are Dr John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, Dr Usama Hasan, Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University and a part time Imam, and Dr Mark Vernon, Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, London who has degrees in physics, theology and philosophy.

In today's "Beyond Belief" Ernie Rea and guests discuss the religious foundations and functions of monarchy.

Ernie Rea in conversation with guests about the place of faith in today's complex world.

This is the most important week in the Christian Year when Christians commemorate what they regard as the central event in human history, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross, an excruciating form of torture carried out by the Romans. Today the cross is commonly used as a fashion item - not a symbol of death, but of consumerism. It can still cause offence; some Christians have been told they cannot wear one at work.