The death in December of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's "Dear Leader" has focused the spotlight on the affairs of one of the world's most secretive states.

Joining Ernie for the discussion are James Grayson, Emeritus Professor of Modern Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield; Professor Sebastian Kim who holds the Chair in Theology and Public Life at York St John University; and Dr Jiyoung Song Associate Fellow at Chatham House and Lecturer at the National University of Singapore.

The Baha'i faith, though numerically small, claims to have a geographical reach second only to Christianity.

It was founded in the nineteenth century in Iran, where its followers are now severely persecuted, and preaches the Unity of God, humanity and religion.

Fidelma Meehan tells Ernie Rea how she was introduced to the faith by the comedian Omid Djalili.

Ernie is joined by two Baha'i writers Moojan Momen and Lil Osborne, and by Denis MacEoin who used to be a Baha'i but left after he became disillusioned with what he saw as its authoritarian structures.

The government's recent proposal to cap welfare benefits at £26000 a year received a setback when an amendment to exclude child benefit from the cap was passed in the House of Lords. The amendment was proposed by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and supported by four other Bishops. The Bishops' action has added fuel to the debate about whether Anglican Bishops should still have a statutory right to seats in the Upper Chamber. When less than 2% of the population attends an Anglican Church on a Sunday, why should 26 of its clergy exercise any influence on the deliberations of the Upper House of Parliament?

Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the arguments for and against having Bishops sitting in the House of Lords are the Rt Rev Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, Jonathan Bartley, Director of the Think Tank Ekklesia, and Dr Meg Russell, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London.

What role does religion play in the race for the Republican nomination for the White House?

Every year more than 100 million people around the world go on pilgrimage, the biggest mass migration of people on the planet. Two and a half million Muslims visited Mecca for last year's Hajj and over 600,000 visited Graceland to worship at the shrine of Elvis Presley. Tourist companies specialising in pilgrimage tours are expanding - it's big business. Ernie & his guests discuss whether there is something in the human psyche which seeks fulfilment from a physical journey, but one that has a spiritual motive, and also consider the growing phenomenon of cyber pilgrimage. Can a "virtual" journey in any way be seen as comparable?

This week's Beyond Belief comes from Scotland, where the Scottish government is considering legalising same sex marriage. A period of public consultation has provoked a huge response from many religious groups who are opposed, yet the opinion polls are generally in favour. Civil partnership ceremonies have been legal in Scotland since 2005 and include the possibility of a religious blessing afterwards. So why is there a need for this further step? What is marriage? Is it a human or a divine institution? And would such a law, if passed, lead to moral anarchy, as some have claimed?

Today's crisis in the global financial markets has produced much soul searching about the culture of greed which seems to permeate our society. At the beginning of the last century the German sociologist, Max Weber, proposed that there was a direct link between the Protestant Reformation and the rise in capitalism. And specifically, that hard work, combined with a moral attitude towards wealth, was directly linked to salvation. So is the loss of religious faith across the West linked to the current crisis in capitalism?

Shamanic cultures have been using substances for thousands of years to induce altered states of consciousness. X ray vision is said to be a key feature of the shamanic experience. This has been observed in Aboriginal rock art where the skeletons of animals are depicted. Cannabis is sacred to the Hindu God Shiva and even ancient Buddhists were known to use drugs. In India there was a substance called Soma, which is mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, which probably used hallucinogenic mushrooms.

In the first of a new series, Ernie Rea and his three guests discuss Islam & the Veil.

France, Belgium & Italy have already banned the full face veil. Other countries are considering it. In Britain a Private Member's Bill on the subject was thrown out 18 months ago. But the subject prompts fierce debate amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In a country like the UK, which prizes individual freedom, is it a basic human right? Or is it essentially divisive in promoting community cohesion? The Qur'an contains very few relevant verses and the word "hijab" literally means "curtain" but many new converts to Islam believe that the full veil is a religious obligation, but is it? Ernie and his guests get to the heart of what the Qur'an actually says and, more, importantly, how that has been interpreted.

Joining Ernie for a lively debate on Islam & the Veil are Fatima Barkatullah, writer and lecturer for the Islamic Education & Research Academy, Dr Shuruq Naguib, Lecturer in Islam at Lancaster University and Khola Hasan, Lecturer on Women's Rights under Islamic law & member of the Islamic Sharia Council.

Earlier this year the Irish Prime Minister launched an unprecedented attack on the Vatican, after an inquiry into the handling of allegations of child abuse found that the church had ignored its own child protection guidelines.