Sunday

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has confirmed that he will have a successor after his death, ending years of uncertainty - but China has other ideas. Hundreds of followers gathered to hear the long-awaited announcement in the Indian town of Dharamshala where the Dalai Lama lives. The leader of Tibetan Buddhism also celebrates his 90th birthday this Sunday. Sunday hears from BBC correspondent Samira Hussein, and explores the Dalai Lama's message further with Ms. Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar, a Tibetan MP from the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.

How does a politician of faith balance their religious beliefs with the responsibilities to their party, and to their constituents? This week, Evangelical Christian Rachel Maskell MP successfully lead a backbench rebellion against Keir Starmer’s welfare reforms. The defeat has had ongoing consequences since then, with commentators asking if the defeat has put Prime Minister’s credibility at risk.

Protests in Turkey as newspaper staff are arrested for publishing a cartoon alleged to be of the Prophet Mohammad and Moses shaking hands over a bombed out city. Editor in Chief of LeMan satirical magazine says the cartoon has been intentionally misinterpreted. Emily Buchanan explores how modern Turkey- created as a secular state - seems to have changed over time, and how blurred the lines have now become separating state and faith?

Presenter: Emily Buchanan

The Church of England is facing serious criticism from a stalking victim for failing to keep him safe. The victim was a male volunteer church warden, the stalker a woman lay preacher. He says he reported what was happening to the Church authorities - including Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Leicester. Ed Stourton is joined by the BBC's Religion Editor, Aleem Maqbool, who has helped uncover this story.

The American Pew foundation has just published the results of one of its most ambitious projects - plotting How the Global Religious Landscape has changed over the past decade. They sifted through some 2,700 new sources of data - for the results we spoke to the lead author, Conrad Hackett.

It’s Glastonbury weekend and we’re exploring faith on the farm. We hear from Chris North at the festival’s church tent where he’s planning Sunday’s service.

Presenter: Edward Stourton

The US has bombed three major nuclear sites in Iran, bringing the country directly into the Israel-Iran conflict. Iran's Foreign minister has described the US strikes as "outrageous" and says Iran is reserving "all options to defend its sovereignty". We get an update from our correspondent in Jerusalem and discuss if an argument can be made from religiously-based ethics, for Israel’s actions? Israel contends that its attack on Iran is legal under international law because it represented a form of pre-emptive self-defence. William Crawley speaks to Emad Kiyaei, director at the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), and co-author of Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction: A new approach to non-proliferation; and Dr Ezra Tzfadya, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Middle East Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, where he convenes the US Department of Education sponsored "Shia Islamic and Jewish Legal Reasoning in Dialogue" project.

Presenter: William Crawley

The horrific plane crash in Gujarat sent shockwaves through the UK’s Hindu community — many of whom have close ties to that region of India. The day after the tragedy, Emily Buchanan visited the vast Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, North West London, to speak with Tarun Patel, a spokesperson for the temple, and Tilak Parek, a scholar of religion and anthropology.

We also hear from the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet, on the latest developments in the Israel-Iran conflict.

And it’s not every day that a kung fu master becomes a modern-day influencer. But with the publication of his book Shaolin Spirit: The Way to Self-Mastery in English, Shi Heng Yi — founder of the Shaolin Temple Europe — is reaching new audiences. His TED Talks have inspired millions to explore martial arts as well as daily practices for mind and body.

Presenter: Emily Buchanan

William Crawley talks to Cardinal Vincent Nichols ahead of the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV and hears from correspondent Bethany Bell in Rome.

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week with Edward Stourton.

With the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine top on the news agenda, it may be easy to miss ongoing war in Sudan. The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has this week highlighted the extensive use of sexual violence against women and girls - some of them very young indeed - in the Darfur region. We hear testimonies from survivors and Edward Stourton speaks to Ruth Kauffman, the MSF Medical Emergency Manager for Sudan and by Dr Harun Issack Muslim Aids Country Director for Sudan.

The King? A healer? An American shaman? We explore Elvis’ little known fascination with the occult, spirituality and a quest for higher consciousness with Miguel Connor, author of ‘The Occult Elvis: The Mystical and Magical Life of the King.’

It's been a busy week for the new Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool. Installed on Tuesday, his first mass was overshadowed by violence at the victory parade in the city which saw 79 people injured by a car driven into the crowd at high speed. And now, John Sherrington has another job on his hands: deciding the future of an historic church in Lancashire, one with links to the martyr St Edmund Arrowsmith, executed for his faith in 1628. Parishioners like Bren Cook at Brindle St Joseph's were shocked to hear their building would be closed and the congregation dispersed to neighbouring churches after their priest was recalled to Ampleforth Abbey in North Yorkshire- the Sunday programme also hears from Liam Kelly the company secretary of the trust.

Presenter: Edward Stourton

Humanitarian aid is now reaching Gaza, although the required levels remain a point of dispute between the Israeli Government and aid agencies. It comes in a week when human tragedies in Gaza and Washington continue to mount. Julie Etchingham examines the key questions in a seemingly intractable conflict.

The Vatican has been thrust front and centre in attempts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. How realistic is it to hope that the papacy might achieve a breakthrough for peace where so many others have failed?

And Ramblings presenter Clare Balding describes the experience of walking the iconic pilgrim route of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (way of St James) and recommends 'pilgrimages' to others.

PRESENTER - Julie Etchingham

The world was watching as American Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter's Basilica earlier this week.

Presenter: William Crawley

While Sistine chapels’ voting booth remains unpredictable, there are still potential runners and riders. To discuss these front runners as well as the intriguing internal politics of the papal conclave, William Crawley is joined by papal expert Edward Pentin and Vatican reporter Colleen Dulle.

Also in the programme, we hear from the Gammarelli family, who have been dressing bishops, cardinals and popes for over 200 years. They were the personal tailors to Pope Francis, as well as his predecessors. William Crawley speaks to the shop owner, Lorenzo Gammarelli near the Pantheon in Rome.

And William interviews Sister Nathalie Becquart, who has served as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops since 2021. She is the first woman to hold such an important position and the first to have voting rights in the Synod.

Presenter: William Crawley