Faith leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Vincent Nichols have welcomed a new report which calls for better support for asylum seekers. It comes from a commission set up to consider how refugees might be helped to integrate into society more easily. It makes a series of recommendations and suggests that the current system creates barriers to asylum seekers who want to quickly make good use of their existing skills and qualifications. The government says it's committed to ensuring refugees can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK.
It's 300 years since J S Bach's setting of the Passion narrative from St John's gospel was first performed on Good Friday at the St Nicholas Church in Leipzig. This week many of the UK's cathedrals and churches will be marking the anniversary by performing it. The composer, conductor and singer, Bob Chilcott celebrates the work and reflects on what is one of the most revered of all musical settings of the Passion.
Does religious education at school help young people when they get a job? Lord Karan Bilimoria, a former president of the CBI, thinks it can. He believes RE helps young people to navigate the complexity of modern belief and the diversity of worldviews in the UK today. The businessman, who is from the Zoroastrian tradition, has launched a campaign urging employers to support higher standards in religious education. We hear from Lord Bilimoria, and also from the National Secular Society who feel there are better ways to equip young people for the workforce.
Presenter: Edward Stourton Producers: Jonathan Hallewell and Alexa Good Editor: Dan Tierney
Elton John's Rocketman for Lent; Young Worshipers and Climate Change; Nigeria's Oscars bid
Every Day Sounds That Make Us Happy; Dissappeared Christian and Black Church Domestic Abuse.
The Skipping Sikh; David Baddiel; Gospel Music
Archbishop of York; Nazir Afzal; Islamic Relief Worldwide
Faith and Kamala Harris; China's Uighar Minority; How to be a Refugee
Lichfield Cathedral Becomes Vaccination Hub; Martin Luther King Day and Sikh Devotional Music
President Trump, white supremacy and Christianity; Children of Catholic Priests; Christmas lights stay on
Religious News Review; Hospital Chaplain; Religion and Vaccine Scepticism
Hope, Devotional music, Cold water swimming
Bethlehem's quiet Christmas, Cardinal Pell's prison journal, Choir's Covid test
Indian farmers' strike; Lock-down Conversions; Christmas Lights at Durham Cathedral
The PC and the hijab; Minecraft Sunday School; National Grief Awareness Week at St Paul's Cathedral
Christmas Carols; Maradona; the Morality of Foreign Aid
Catholic IICSA Response; MuslimPro App; Zoom Choirs
Beirut Statue; Catholic Abuse Report; Who should get the vaccine first?
Remembrance in a pandemic; US Election; Living in Love and Faith
Bobby Ball's Faith; France and Islam; Labour Anti-semitism Report
COVID reflections; Pope Francis and civil partnerships; Bakery for refugees
Gordon Brown; Bishop of Liverpool; Martyrs Book
Amanda Khozi Mukwashi; IICSA reports on the Anglican Church; Jewish weddings
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