PODCAST · religion
Beyond Belief
by BBC Radio 4
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world
Episodes
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Religion and the Law
Martin Luther King said: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state". What happens when religious conscience and the law collide? In a socially diverse Britain, how should we understand peoples faith and religiosity…
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The Gospel according to Bob
The Gospel According to Dylan. Sixty years ago, Bob Dylan was on stage at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester when a fan shouted "Judas!" from the audience. Giles is joined by Michael Gray, and writer, poet, philosopher, priest, and blues-singer, Malcolm Guite to discuss the spiritual side of Bob...
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Inked
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...
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War and Peace
Giles Fraser and the panel discuss religious views on military action and how conflict is justified theologically across different faiths and contexts. They reflect on the personal story of Michael Elstub, and his journey from military service to becoming a Quaker and peace campaigner. Panel:...
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Consciousness
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...
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Prison Conversions
In this episode of Beyond Belief, Giles Fraser explores the deeply personal and often transformative phenomenon of religious conversion in prison. From heroin addiction and violence to spiritual awakening, we hear the raw and powerful testimony of Tony Winter, whose journey to faith began behind...
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Faith versus Fear
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...
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Cultural Religiosity
Giles Fraser meets columnist Giles Coren, who was raised in the Jewish tradition, became an atheist and who now feels at home in a Christian church, to explore what it means to be culturally religious. Is cultural religiosity an oxymoron and totally untenable? Is it on the rise or has it always...
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Claiming Christianity
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...
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Faithful Food
We hear from the volunteers serving an average of 1,500 meals a day at the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Hounslow and explore the significance of langar in the Sikh and wider community. Mona Siddiqui and the panel explore the role food plays in religion. Do all religious traditions have the...
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Mixed Blessings
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…
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Pharisees: a byword for hypocrisy?
The word hypocrite gets used with such regularity – and Jesus himself had form using the term. How did the Pharisees became a byword for hypocrisy and is it fair? Was Jesus wrong about the Pharisees? Is the view of the Pharisees changing? To discuss Giles Fraser is joined by Amy-Jill Levine,...
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Divine Comedy
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…
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The Religion of Detection
Giles Fraser and guests hear from authors of detective fiction, Kate Charles and Martin Edwards, on the subtle ways they weave faith into the crime puzzles in their novels. Why is religious detective fiction so popular in our increasingly secular society? Did the detective replace the priest as…
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Blue Christmas
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...
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Do our pets go to heaven?
The Rev Tara Hellings, an Anglican vicar, outlines her experiences of conducting funerals at a Pet Crematorium in Winchfield, and Nurul Ain Abdul Hamid, a Muslim who runs a dog and cat shelter in Malaysia, shares her beliefs on the equality of all animals. Do animals have souls? Are all animals...
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Armour of God
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...
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Religious Freedom
Giles Fraser meets Stephen Schneck, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, to explore the impact of globalisation on religious freedom. Restrictions on religious freedom are increasing. What impact has the spread of religious traditions had on freedom of belief? How does...
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The Gift of the Garden
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…
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Religion in the therapy room
Giles Fraser explores the parallels and overlaps between spirituality/religion and psychotherapy. Professor Josh Cohen is a psychotherapist, who believes that God can be a problematic figure in the therapy room. Joining the discussion with Giles is Dr Jeremy Holmes, British Psychiatrist and…
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A Suffering God
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...
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Wine of the Gods
Giles Fraser explores the place of wine in some religious traditions, as the blood of Christ, the nectar of the Greek Gods or Persian poets, to something forbidden or proscribed. We start on a balmy evening in Napa Valley, with a sea breeze blowing through the vines at Marinda Kruger's vineyard....
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Spreading the Word
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...
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Poetry: Reaching for Divine Heights
Recorded live at the Bradford Literature Festival three poets join Giles Fraser to consider the relationship between poetry and the divine. Some of our most feted poets, from Rumi to John Donne, Tagore to William Blake – have found that poetry opens up a space to explore the divine. In A…
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Why We Walk
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...
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More Than One Wife
Giles Fraser meets Hafsa Rizki, a British Muslim women who coaches women in polygamous relationships. Her husband was already married when they met and got married themselves. She doesn't like the term, but she says she is a second wife and tells Giles about why it's a successful relationship…
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Monsters and Gods
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…
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Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir: Religion and Politics in India
In a temple in Southall, west London, Giles Fraser hears about the spiritual significance for British Hindus of the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, consecrated with much fanfare in January 2024 by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As Indians go to the polls in the largest democratic...
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Spiritual Seekers
Eddy Elsey, an estate agent in London, was struggling with his mental health and looking for support. Like 37% of people, according to the last census in England and Wales, traditional religion wasn’t a place he turned to. But, as he tells Giles Fraser, he did find a spiritual connection through...
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Embracing Neurodiversity
Giles Fraser hears from a Mum of two who describes how her family’s neurodivergence has affected their practice of faith. Carolina Mountford has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and strong autistic traits. Her two sons are also neurodivergent and Carolina describes some of the challenges that...
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Faithful Feet
In our society feet are often hidden away in shoes, perhaps to make an odd appearance post pedicure… but they can be an incredibly powerful symbol within many religions. Giles Fraser meets Kai Bridges, a Shamanic practitioner who guides people through firewalks as part of his spiritual practice....
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Assisted Dying
Giles Fraser hears about Alison Davis, who was in pain, very unwell and wanted to die. Her friend and carer Colin Harte describes how she changed her mind and went on to campaign against euthanasia, or assisted dying, and also developed a Catholic faith. The debate about assisted dying, the right...
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Interfaith: Can We Still Talk?
People of faith who have pro-actively built bridges with those from other religions say their work is the most difficult it's ever been. Since the Hamas attack of October 7th 2023 and the conflict in Gaza, previously friendly relations between British Jews and Muslims have been strained....
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What's so funny about faith?
Is religion funny? Or are some subjects just too sacred for satire? Religious institutions are large establishments, but does this give people the right to joke about them? And can religion itself be seen as funny? Aleem Maqbool talks to Eman El Husseini, Muslim comedian, and wife of Jewish comic...
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Religion and War
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu used biblical references in the early days of Israel's armed response to the October 7th massacre, carried out by Hamas. The covenant of Hamas repeatedly uses Islamist rhetoric in its declaration of purpose and intent. But what does scripture and...
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What Should We Teach in RE?
Teacher and Tik-Toker Henna Karin-Sayer (@mrsreandpsheteacher) shares her passion for her subject, and the challenges facing those trying to teach religious education today. A shortage of experienced subject teachers and a very mixed picture in what children are taught has led to a 'post-code...
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Women in Charge?
What does female leadership in faith and religion look like today? Whilst more women than ever participated in the Pope’s recent Synod, (an assembly, or meeting) at the Vatican last year, we still seem a fair distance from women being able to offer a sacrament in the Catholic Church. Aleem…
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Stem Cell Steaks and the Scriptures
Is cultured or cultivated meat, grown from animal stem cells, kosher or halal? That's what some religious leaders and scholars are starting to consider as we search for more sustainable solutions to feeding the world. Didier Toubia is the CEO of Aleph Farms, one company in Israel that has sought...
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Faith In The Psychedelic Renaissance
Aleem Maqbool meets Richard Butler, who describes a new-found connection with Jesus during an Ayahuasca retreat in Mexico, after discovering spirituality through meditation. Some psychedelic drugs, like the plant-based DMT found in the ayahuasca drink, have been the subject of medical trials for...
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Sacred Sounds
What makes music sacred? A young, slightly lost university student wanders into York Minster on a Saturday afternoon, after football practice. The choral music he hears there will change his life. Aleem Maqbool hears his story, and is joined by a panel of talented musicians and composers from the...
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Witches, Druids and Pagans
The number of Pagans in the UK is on the rise. The 2021 Census saw 75,000 define themselves as Pagan, 13,000 as Wicca and there was also a huge increase in those defining as Shaman, up to 8000. Aleem Maqbool speaks with modern day witch, Richard about his spirituality and the impact it has on his...
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Behind Bars
In 1993 Michael Emmett was sentenced to 12 years in prison. It was there that he had a radical transformation. After a difficult night, alone in his cell, he opened the Bible and began to read. Aleem Maqbool speaks to Michael Emmett about his conversion to Christianity leading to a discussion on...
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Ashes to Ashes
‘We always put our hand on the coffin and use their name, tell them how loved they were. And then just as the door opens, we wish them well on their journey.” Crematorium Manager Jenny Hamilton tells Aleem Maqbool how she and her team approach their work with the deceased at the Clyde Coast and...
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Faith and Politics
The former SNP leadership contender Kate Forbes, found herself at the centre of a political storm about her religious views. In response to interviews questions, she said the idea of having children outside of marriage conflicted with her Christian faith and confirmed that she was anti-abortion.…
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Faith and Fortune
Daniel Ally is an influencer and author who has built an online coaching business, sharing tips on how to become wealthy. He’s also a committed Christian who credits the Bible for turning his life around. He speaks to Aleem Maqbool about how his beliefs inspire him to seek financial success. This...
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Taking a Stand
Revd Hilary Bond is a priest in the Church of England in Wareham in Dorset. She's also bee arrested five times at climate change protests and now has two convictions to her name. Aleem Maqbool speaks with Hilary about her choice to take a direct approach by blocking roads during climate change...
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The God Desire
Do we have a desire for God? In the first of a new series, Aleem Maqbool speaks to David Baddiel about his book "The God Desire". Aleem is joined on stage at The Hay Festival by the panel to explore what it means to have a desire for God, where this desire might come from and whether it's driven…
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Menfluencers
Is there a crisis of masculinity in the modern day? How are online influencers having an impact on young men? And how does faith play a part in this phenomenon? Aleem Maqbool speaks with Josiah and Vanessa, a young couple who were both brought up in strict Christian households, about how Jordan...
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fAIth
Artificial intelligence influences how we interact with everything – and religion is no exception. AI technology is increasingly being incorporated into religious worship. Robot priests are delivering sermons, chatbots are reciting prayers, robot monks are spreading wisdom and robotic arms are...
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The Coronation
On 6th May 2023, King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey in an ancient ceremony that dates back a thousand years. The Coronation service is, at its heart, a religious event in which King Charles swears an oath to uphold “the Protestant Reformed Religion Established by Law” and is...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world
HOSTED BY
BBC Radio 4
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Beyond Belief have?
Beyond Belief currently has 359 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Beyond Belief about?
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world
How often does Beyond Belief release new episodes?
Beyond Belief publishes regularly with 359 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Beyond Belief?
You can listen to Beyond Belief on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Beyond Belief?
Beyond Belief is created and hosted by BBC Radio 4.
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