Sunday

As talks between the United States and Iran get underway, Edward Stourton discusses the vivid use of religious language in the rhetoric surrounding the war in the Middle East with Dr Toby Matthiesen, Kamin Mohammadi and Dr Brian Klug.

Uzbekistan has decided to include Sharia banking in the country's financial system. It's said it will unlock a trillion dollars in foreign investment. Atty Arsalan Tariq, a lawyer who specialises in Islamic and conventional finance explains how this will work.

For many Lebanese the trauma of the current conflict with Israel stands out against the backdrop of Lebanon's long recent history of violence. For Toufic Diab, from Lebanon who lives in the UK, the icon of a Lebanese saint helps his faith and brings solace during this worrying time for his family back home.

For 75 years the Archers has graced the airwaves with the story of everyday country folk in the fictional village of Ambridge. Like the village pub, the church has been at the centre of village life. John Telfer, who plays the Rev Alan Franks and Nick Warbuton, a writer on the show, look back at the role religion has played in this long running drama.

Presenter: Edward Stourton

Less than two weeks since her installation as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally is to give her first Easter sermon in the role. There is also controversy with the news that the King is not publishing an Easter message this year. Some point out that the King published a video message with greetings to Muslims during Ramadan, and wonder why the Supreme Governor of the Church of England is seemingly silent on the most important day in the Christian calendar.

At a White House Easter event on Wednesday, evangelical pastors compared Donald Trump’s political troubles and a failed assassination attempt to the experience of Jesus on the cross, calling him God’s chosen champion in a “spiritual" battle that included the Iran war. Pope Leo and others believe peace-making is not only necessary, but possible.

The crew of Artemis II are on their way to the moon, one of the personal items is a copy of the bible. Many astronauts have spoken of their experience of seeing the earth from deep space in spiritual terms, describing what has been described as an 'overview effect' - a sense of awe upon looking at Earth suspended in space.

Presenter: William Crawley

Sunday guides you through the religious and ethical issues of the week, including the news that a report claiming the number of young people attending church in England and Wales had skyrocketed, has now been retracted. It comes after the underlying data was found to be flawed. The Bible Society's "Quiet Revival" report had been widely reported on since its publication last year and became an accepted part of discourse among many Christians.

Sir James MacMillan’s new 70-minute, 12-piece choral oratorio "Angels Unawares" has received it's world premiere in the Sistine Chapel. It's a moving piece about angelic encounters set to poetry by the late Robert Willis, the former Dean of Canterbury who died in 2024. William speaks to Sir James about the historic performance and his connection to faith.

And as Christians around the world prepare for Palm Sunday, worshippers in Jerusalem are facing an unprecedented disruption to Holy Week, we explore the latest.

PRESENTER: William Crawley

Sunday guides you through the time-honoured rituals of the enthronement of an Archbishop of Canterbury - and how the service will break new ground with an anthem based on the words of 14th century female mystic Julian of Norwich, put to music by Joanna Marsh.

We will be hearing the stories of people in Iran as they mark Persian New Year and Eid in the midst of war.

And the story of a new film that brought the first Christian hymn from papyrus to the big screen.

For Iranians living in the UK, the past weeks have been filled with uncertainty and fear for loved ones and growing concern about what happens next. We hear from Rev Mohammad Eghtedarian and his wife Maryam, who both fled Iran around the year 2000. Maryam was already a Christian and Mohammad converted on the journey he took as an asylum seeker coming to Britain.

It can be difficult to think of what we want to happen to our remains after death. A step forward in providing an alternative to burial or cremation has been legalised in Scotland, known as aquamation. Could other parts of UK soon follow? There are theological considerations for those who believe in ‘the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting'.

There is a new superhero on our screens. The Ninth Master is an English language film that follows a Sikh warrior who discovers martial arts. There are now touring screenings around the UK. Its director and lead actor, known as Flex Singh, has been speaking to Sunday.

Presenter: Julie Etchingham

The Anglican Communion’s long-running divisions over same-sex relationships have sharpened again after a major gathering in Nigeria. At the Global Anglican Futures Conference, or Gafcon, bishops and archbishops from Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere voiced strong opposition to what they see as the theological drift of parts of the Communion, including the Church of England. Emily Buchanan has been to Abuja and brings reaction from across the Anglican world.

The programme also turns to the war in the Middle East and its religious dimensions. More than a week after the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, Emily Buchanan speaks to the Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, and to aid workers supporting people displaced by bombing in southern Lebanon.

Presenter: Emily Buchanan

William Crawley speaks to Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani about US and Israel air strikes on the country she fled as a teenager, when the Islamic revolution was taking place.

He also hears from Iranian academic Roxane Farmanfarmian and Anshel Pfeffer, Israel Correspondent for The Economist.

A new film about a sacred Scottish tradition premieres at the Glasgow Film Festival. 'Psalms of the People' follows Rob MacNeacail on a personal journey as he explores the cultural heritage of Gaelic psalm singing.

The Christian poet Harry Baker has written 100 poems for the first 100 days of his newborn son’s life, an ode to modern fatherhood in all its chaos, tenderness and bleary-eyed wonder. The book is called "Tender: 100 Poems for the First 100 Days of Life".

PRESENTER: WILLIAM CRAWLEY

US civil rights activist and religious leader, Jesse Jackson is remembered, following his death at the age of 84. He campaigned alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, and later ran for president twice - his political message was infused with the traditions, and the cadences, of the Black Baptist church.

A musical film called The Testament of Ann Lee was released in the UK this week. It explores the story of a woman from Manchester who preached gender and social equality as the founder of the Shakers movement. Dancing, singing and a search for ecstatic experiences were a central part of worship, as well as vows of celibacy.

Documents in the US ‘Epstein files’ reveal that Donald Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon discussed plans with Jeffrey Epstein to "take down" Pope Francis, even exploring a film based on a controversial book about the Vatican. The messages, reported by CNN and Religion News Service, cast the Vatican as a geopolitical pressure point in wider culture wars.

Presenter: William Crawley

Archbishop of Westminster Richard Moth gives his first interview since being installed on St Valentine's Day. The 67-year-old becomes the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, taking over from Cardinal Vincent Nichols who retired last year.

Ramadan and Lent are due to get underway around the same time next week - a coincidence that hasn't been seen in decades. We hear from two friends - one Christian and one Muslim - about what they have learned from the other's season of preparation and abstinence.

Have you picked up or deepened a spiritual practice by exposure to another faith?

War surgeon David Nott talks to Emily about the faith that motivates him to operate in the most dangerous situations, and the maverick Christian organisation, the Free Burma Rangers that enables his work in Myanmar.

The Epstein files has raised big questions beyond politics, Sunday explores the moral dimension of the latest revelations.

A hammer price of 23 million dollars is quite a lot to pay for a small chalk drawing of a foot. Michelangelo sketch was part of a study for the magnificent Sistine Chapel fresco. Jarda Da-man, a specialist in Old Masters at Christies, describes it for the Sunday audience.

The BAFTA awards are a fortnight away and the documentary 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' is in the running. It is a story of religion and right-wing politics set in Brazil, and focuses on the rule of Jair Bolsonaro, who was the country's president from 2019 until 2023, before he was replaced by President Lula da Silva. Petra Costa directed the film and details the rise in evangelical Christianity against the setting of Brazilian politics.

Presenter: Edward Stourton