Beyond Belief

Giles Fraser gets under the skin of the religious significance of tattoos. We hear from Wassim Rassouk - the owner of the oldest tattoo business in the world and head of a family business going back 27 generations.His panel are Revd Wendy Dalrymple, Canon of Ripon Cathedral who has Christian symbols tattooed on the entire length of her arms, tattoo artist and designer, Gabriel Wolff who specialises in Hebrew Calligraphy, and Maori tā moko artist Te Rangitu Netana.

Giles Fraser explores Dr. Iain McGilchrist’s brain hemisphere theory, which argues that the left and right hemispheres of the brain perceive the world in radically different ways—and that modern society has become dangerously dominated by the left hemisphere’s analytical, fragmented, and controlling mode of thought. He describes how the two hemispheres of the brain perceive reality in fundamentally different ways. The left hemisphere, he argues, sees a fragmented, abstract world—focused on control and acquisition—while the right hemisphere perceives a flowing, interconnected reality, rich in context, meaning, and mystery. We unpack this theory with our panel of experts: Dr. Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University. Philip is known for his work in panpsychism, a philosophical view which proposes that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the universe—not just something that emerges from complex brains, but something that may be present even at the level of basic matter. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind and the nature of consciousness.Canon Dr. Joanna Collicutt, psychologist and theologian from the University of Oxford. Joanna brings a unique perspective that bridges psychology, spirituality, and pastoral care—exploring how religious experience shapes and is shaped by the human mind.And Professor Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and a leading figure in the emerging field of neurotheology—which explores the relationship between brain function and religious or spiritual experience. Andrew is Professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences and Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in the United States.Also on the programme, The Sacred podcaster Elizabeth Oldfield, shares a powerful spiritual experience—one that defied easy explanation and left a lasting imprint on her spiritual life.Beyond Belief is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4.Presenter: Giles Fraser Producer: Bara'atu Ibrahim Assistant Producer: Jay Behrouzi & Linda Walker Editor: Tim Pemberton

Giles Fraser delves into the moral and theological tensions surrounding immigration, asking whether Christian faith leads to exclusion or radical inclusion. British politician and prominent catholic Ann Widdecombe opens with a candid reflection on the limits of national capacity and the need for fair rules, citing scripture to support her belief in prioritizing care for one’s family and community. The discussion broadens with insights from Journalist & Historian Tim Stanley, human rights advocate Yasmin Halima, and Theos researcher George Lapshynov, who presents data showing Christians are more hostile toward immigration than the general public. The panel explores the biblical imperative to welcome the stranger, the concept of “ordered love” from Saint Augustine, and the practical challenges of balancing compassion with security. Author and activist Onjali Raúf adds a deeply personal lens, highlighting the human cost of displacement and the rhetoric that dehumanizes refugees.Beyond Belief is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4.Presenter: Giles Fraser Producer: Bara’atu Ibrahim Assistant Producer: Linda Walker Editor: Tim Pemberton

Giles Fraser meets the Revd Canon Fr Phil Harris, of the Anglican Church in North America, to discuss defending Britain’s Christian heritage.Christianity has been deployed as a tool by those who have been labelled as far-right by their opponents, or by people supporting far-right views. Is right-wing appropriation of the faith a problem that needs solving and what issues does this claim to Christianity pose? To explore Giles is joined by:Dr Maria Power, Senior Research Fellow in Human Dignity at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford and a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and Co editor of The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity.Dr. John Onwuchekwa, Sr. Director of Innovation at Redeemer City to City and former pastor of the Cornerstone Church in Atlanta which was part of the Southern Baptist Convention. Andrea Minichiello, Chief Executive of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre.Beyond Belief is a BBC Audio North production for Radio 4.

Giles Fraser and guests hear from novelist and opinion writer Lisa Solod on her negative experience of marrying outside of her Jewish faith, and from Amy and Takbir, on how they navigate marriage between a Christian and Muslim. What if your Mr or Mrs Right doesn't share your religious tradition and values? Is interfaith marriage a problem? And, what are religious traditions doing in an increasingly liberal, secular society to help couples navigate mixed relationships? To explore Giles is joined by: Eleanor Nesbitt, a Professor in Religions and Education at Warwick University, a Quaker who has been in an interfaith marriage with a Hindu partner. She is a specialist in the religious socialisation of young people of Christian; Hindu and Sikh background.Rev Dr Paul Smith, an Interfaith Advisor for the Diocese of Oxford and author of Intimate Diversity, a book looking at the realities of interfaith marriage in modern Britain. Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, an Imam from Leicester and former Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain. He has contributed to guidelines on inter-faith marriage for the Christian-Muslim forum. Producer: Linda Walker & Alexa Good Editor: Tim Pemberton

Faith based comedy is growing in popularity. Why is religion such a good source for jokes? Is God funny? And, is there anywhere with religion that you just don’t go? Dillon Mapletoft, the writer and creator of hit comedy Everyone Else Burns, explains his fundamentalist Christian upbringing and the influence it had on him writing the coming-of-age sitcom about a Manchester family who are part of a puritanical Christian sect and doomsday cult.To explore Giles Fraser is joined by Shazia Mirza, comedian and part of a female only Halal comedy tour, Shanny Luft, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Winconsin, and Ashley Blaker, a Jewish comedian and writer once described as "the UK's only Orthodox comedian".Producer: Alexa Good Assistant Producer: Linda Walker Editor: Tim Pemberton

Mona Siddiqui and guests hear from Rev Denzil Larbi. He reflects on his cousin, Elianne Andam, who was 15 when she was fatally stabbed at a bus stop in Croydon, South London, in September 2023. He discusses their Christmases together and how the family mark Christmas without her.The panel of guests explore the complexities that often come with religious festivals especially those that come with an expectation of jollity. Do religions do enough for those who are grieving or isolated at times of collective merriment? Should religious leaders and communities be more responsible and nuanced in their approach? And, are some religions better at dealing with grief than others?To discuss Mona is joined by Jasvir Singh, from the Department of Theology and Religion at Birmingham University, Chair of City Sikhs, and the founder and Chair of the British Sikh Report, the Revd Lucy Winkett, Rector of St James's, Piccadilly, and Priest-in-Charge of St Pancras's Church, Euston Road, and Remona Aly, British Muslim journalist, commentator and broadcaster with a focus on faith, identity and lifestyle. Producer: Alexa Good Assistant Producer: Linda Walker Editor: Tim Pemberton

Imam Asim Hafiz, the first Muslim chaplain to the British Armed Forces and an Islamic advisor for the Ministry of Defence, who has been working with the armed forces since 2004 discusses the many changes which have seen attitudes towards his role shifting according to the political climate and Mandeep Kaur, who was appointed as the first and only Sikh Chaplain for the entire British Armed Forces, reflects on why the idea of military chaplaincy may seem like a difficult job to take on and the impact of the role within faith communities. There are approximately 260 regular and 58 reserve chaplains across the armed forces. They serve personnel dealing with the pressures of being away from home, working in hostile environments and dealing with life and death decisions. How has the service evolved to support the broad range of beliefs represented in the armed forces? And how can religious belief really be balanced with the very real possibility of military action leading to loss of life? To discuss Giles is joined by Roger Hutton, President of Defence Humanists and former Ministry of Defence Director International Security, Dr. Sunil Kariyakarawana, the first Buddhist Chaplain to the British Armed Forces, and the Revd Joanna Jepson, an Anglican priest and a Chaplain to the British Army.Producers: Alexa Good and Linda Walker Editors: Tim Pemberton and Chloe Walker

In her poem 'God's Garden', Dorothy Frances Gurney writes:'One is nearer God’s heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth.’Join Giles Fraser and a panel of green-fingered guests as they gather together at the Aga Khan Centre in Kings Cross to reflect on the theological significance of gardens and gardening.From Eden and Gethsemane, to the ancient Islamic gardens of Andalusia, to the Japanese Gardens of Zen Buddhism; temples to churchyards, these sacred zones have been places of solace and reflection for millennia; places of life and death, of peace and tranquillity. Here, even non-religious gardeners find common ground with their religious counterparts: on their knees, often in silence, hands in the earth. For many, gardening is the answer. We hear from Jill Smith - lay minister and trustee of 'The Quiet Garden Movement', who tells us how her garden is a place of healing.Our panellists are Dr Omar Ali de Unzaga - Head of Ismaili Studies at the Aga Khan Centre, Revd Lucy Winkett - Rector at St James' Church in Piccadilly, and Ai Hishii - Director of Japanese garden architects, Momiji Design.*You can visit the Islamic Gardens at the Aga Khan Centre for free - book online.Presenter: Giles Fraser Producers: James Leesley and Bara'atu Ibrahim Editor: Tim Pemberton

Giles Fraser hears about the revolutionary ideas of late theologian Jürgen Moltmann, whose work challenged and transformed Christian ideas of God in the twentieth century.Hamburg, July 1943. The combined might of the Allies rains bombs down on the city causing a catastrophic firestorm. A young German anti-aircraft bomber cries out to God in the midst of devastation. He would go on to be one of the most important Christian theologians of the twentieth century.Giles Fraser recounts how he first started to develop his ideas at a Prisoner of War camp in Scotland after the Second World War. His books, including The Theology of Hope and The Crucified God would go on to be seminal works for those studying Christianity, but would also have far-reaching influence. He also wrote about liberating those oppressed, ecology and the environment and feminism. Joining Giles to discuss why his work matters is Professor Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Ceter for Faith and Culture, who knew Moltmann as a PHD supervisor and friend. Also on the panel are Professor Candida Moss and Professor Celia Deane-Drummond.Does God suffer, as we suffer and what difference does this make to faith and belief? Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: James Leesley Editor: Tim Pemberton

Street evangelist Marios Kaikitis tells Giles Fraser why he stands on Leicester Square with a sketch board trying to engage passers by with his message of Jesus Christ. And Giles explores how different religious groups, within Christianity and Islam, evangelise today. Perhaps crucially, does it work?He's joined by Daryl A Watson, a mission leader at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, Dr Shuruq Naguib, a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Lancaster University and Reverend Dr Hannah Steele, Director of St Mellitus theological college in London, who writes about evangelism and mission today. They discuss the practical, moral and spiritual issues faced by those who want or feel compelled to share their religious beliefs with others. In an increasingly secular country, it it getting more difficult? Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: James Leesley Editor: Tim Pemberton

Why is walking spiritual? Giles Fraser asks if the power of pilgrimage in it's destination, or along the pathway. Alice Sainsbury was recovering from a serious neurological illness when she slowly started to walk again. Step by step she found herself again through walking, and small pilgrimages near her home in Cornwall. It wasn't just a physical journey for her, but a spiritual one as well.She tells Giles Fraser why she walks. And Giles asks a panel of enthusiastic pilgrims from different faiths about the religious beliefs behind walking and pilgrimage.Phil McCarthy, a former GP, has founded Pilgrim Ways, promoting walking pilgrimages in England and Wales. Sr Radharamana Das is a scholar in Sanskrit and Vedic literatures and a volunteer at his local Hare Krishna temple. And Professor Raminder Kaur is the leader of a project about pilgrimage and economics at the University of Sussex. Boots laced, let's begin. Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: James Leesley Editor: Tim Pemberton

Bunny Love-Schock is an interfaith minister and practising witch. She has a devotional practice to the figure of Lilith, a character who has appeared in myth and religious storytelling for centuries. She’s been a demoness, a monster linked to owls, screeching and with wings. In the middle ages you might have been afraid of her harming your unborn or young children. Now, Bunny tells us how she’s seen as a Goddess figure, in all her ambivalence. Giles Fraser explores the monsters that have snarled at us from religious writings. What is their relationship to the divine? What are they trying to tell us and how do we see them now?He’s joined by Professor Esther Hamori, author of ‘God’s Monsters’ who reminds us of the fearsome nature of angels, Dr Bihani Sarkar who has stories from classic Hindu literature and Natalie Lawrence, whose fascination with folklore and ancient myth inspired her book 'Enchanted Creatures'. Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: Ruth Purser Editor: Jonathan Hallewell