This Sunday is the Christian feast of Pentecost, celebrating the arrival of the Holy Spirit among Jesus’ disciples.

As Australians prepare for a federal election, we ask: what place does religion have in politics, or politics in religion? And we look at some historical examples of how religion and politics, or church and state, have gotten tangled up with each other.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 12 May 2016.

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Martin Luther

Holy days of the week were Yom HaShoah and Ascension.

We talked to Philip Thiel about Lutheranism in Australia, and current discussions on the role of women and LGBTI people.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 5 May 2016.

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It’s Easter again: Orthodox Easter, that is.

We talked to Tiffany Sparks about representing A Progressive Christian Voice on Q&A and about some of the issues that matter to progressive Christians.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 28 April 2016.

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Pesach Seder plate (source: Mark Sobey)

Chag sameach!

Mark talked us through the story of Pesach (Passover) and the fifteen steps that make up the Pesach Seder.

Haggadot (source: Mark Sobey)

For next week’s show, you may want to watch Q&A on ABC on Monday night first. One of the panellists, Tiffany Sparks from Progressive Christian Voice, will be our guest on Thursday 28 April.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 21 April 2016.

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A tzitzit worn by Jewish men (source: Mark Sobey)

Holy day of the week was the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi.

This led us into a discussion of different types of clothes that are significant in religion, including:

Originally broadcast on Thursday 14 April.

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Mark, Claudine and Rachel spent most of the show talking about one frequently asked question: the relationships between Hanukkah and Christmas, and Passover and Easter.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 7 April.

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Stephen Fry has been nominated for a religious broadcasting award for an interview in which he suggested that God is evil.

https://youtu.be/B5RtDpva7nE

Rachel and Claudine asked and answered a few frequently asked questions about religion, including:

Originally broadcast on Thursday 31 March 2016.

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Claudine was in church for Maundy Thursday so she was replaced by a bear in the studio.

Rachel read the text from the Lego Easter Story by BW Animations.

There are 14 or 15 Stations of the Cross depending on who you ask.

Mark wore a bear-et to celebrate Purim. Here’s a short video of Mark and Claudine the bear dancing to Esther’s a Jew.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 24 March 2016.

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Lá fhéile Pádraig sona duit! It’s still St Patrick’s Day (17 March) somewhere in the world and we learned a bit about why St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

Our second holy day this week is Palm Sunday (20 March). After we learned about palms, processions and donkeys, we talked to Sr Brigid Arthur, from the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project, about the Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees.

The Melbourne walk starts at the State Library of Victoria with music and speeches from 1pm on Sunday, 20 March.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 17 March 2016.

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To celebrate International Women’s Day, we talked about the Bible, women, language and gender with Emily Payne, an Anglican priest.

Originally broadcast on Thursday 10 March 2016.

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