Songs of Praise is to remain Christian despite calls for it to be turned it into a multifaith programme, the BBC’s first Muslim head of religion has pledged. Aaqil Ahmed said that it was vital that religious programming promoted “diversity” but insisted that Songs of Praise would always remain Christian.
Interfaith dialogue has made a tremendous leap forward.
One of the great religious success stories of our time has been the leap forward in interfaith dialogue. The extent to which regular meetings of rabbis, vicars and imams is no longer newsworthy proves the point — but it also masks the fact that it is a surprisingly novel development.
Not so long ago the different faiths saw each other as rivals or vied to convert each other’s members. Preachers warned their flocks of the perils of contact with unbelievers and highlighted religious differences; now they regard each other as allies in a common fight against religious indifference.
A milestone in this change — and later a catalyst for progress between other faiths — was in 1942 when the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) was founded and the first nervous attempts were made to bridge what, for centuries, had been a hostile and bloody divide.
Three short religious stories in common currency in Jewish circles in the decades since then reveal the rapid journey from deep suspicion to mutual trust between the two faiths.
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A multifaith Songs of Praise? Not on my watch says BBC religion chief
Songs of Praise is to remain Christian despite calls for it to be turned it into a multifaith programme, the BBC’s first Muslim head of religion has pledged. Aaqil Ahmed said that it was vital that religious programming promoted “diversity” but insisted that Songs of Praise would always remain Christian.
Media Monitoring
Religious Jokes Are Changing
6th January 2012
Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain | The Times
Interfaith dialogue has made a tremendous leap forward.
One of the great religious success stories of our time has been the leap forward in interfaith dialogue. The extent to which regular meetings of rabbis, vicars and imams is no longer newsworthy proves the point — but it also masks the fact that it is a surprisingly novel development.
Not so long ago the different faiths saw each other as rivals or vied to convert each other’s members. Preachers warned their flocks of the perils of contact with unbelievers and highlighted religious differences; now they regard each other as allies in a common fight against religious indifference.
A milestone in this change — and later a catalyst for progress between other faiths — was in 1942 when the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ) was founded and the first nervous attempts were made to bridge what, for centuries, had been a hostile and bloody divide.
Three short religious stories in common currency in Jewish circles in the decades since then reveal the rapid journey from deep suspicion to mutual trust between the two faiths.
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