Thought for the Day explicitly excludes non-religious contributors.
The BBC should move away from biased religious programming. That should begin with a rethink of Thought for the Day.
The BBC has a long history of pro-religion bias in its output, which is typified by Thought for the Day.
Thought for the Day is a daily slot on BBC Radio 4's flagship news programme, Today. For nearly three minutes, religious leaders offer "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news". Nonreligious people and leaders of less popular religions, no matter how well-respected their views, are not allowed to contribute.
Despite being within such a prominent discussion slot, Thought for the Day is outside the programme's editorial control. This means there is no right to reply when the slot is used for political or religious proselytising.
- Fewer than one in five British people think BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day should exclusively feature religious content.
- Religious radio programmes are the least popular and least well received according to the BBC's own research.
Public apathy towards Thought for the Day is even shared by Today's former presenter, John Humphrys, who described the slot as "inappropriate" and "deeply, deeply boring" in 2017. His colleague Justin Webb has also criticised it.
Reforming Thought for the Day to include speakers of any religion or belief would improve overall quality, make it relevant to Today's audience and remove the unjustifiable discrimination. Contributors should be picked without reference to their religious or non-religious identity.
There is a place for high quality, critical religion and belief programming on the BBC – but not one-sided promotion of religion.
Take action!
1. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
2. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
BBC should portray religion in critically-informed way, says NSS
Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 14:01
The National Secular Society has said the BBC should portray religion in "a fair and critically-informed manner" after the Corporation pledged to increase the religious content in its programming.
On Wednesday the BBC published its Religion and Ethics Review after a year-long consultation. It called for wider primetime coverage of non-Christian festivals and more coverage of religious themes in 'mainstream' programmes.
The BBC said it would "raise our game" and "enhance" the representation of religion on TV and radio dramas and documentaries. Its review calls for the development of a network of religious experts within the BBC to help staff cover 'sensitive' issues.
The Corporation will produce more content about non-Christian festivals like Diwali, Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan and Eid on its mainstream programmes. It will broadcast landmark programmes to "explore religion in all its forms". These will include a major TV series about the world's sacred sites, a Radio 4 series on morality in the 21st Century and a Radio 2 initiative to encourage young people to discuss issues about peace.
The Thought for the Day slot on Radio 4's Today programme – recently described as "inappropriate" and "deeply, deeply boring" by the programme's presenter – will include a wider range of religious voices. The non-religious will continue to be the only belief group explicitly excluded.
The BBC will make 2019 'A Year of Beliefs'. It will tell more "people-led stories", such as observing vicars working in local communities. Its religious affairs correspondent (currently Martin Bashir) will be promoted to religion editor and will lead BBC News's new global religious affairs team. Religion will be tied in with music and comedy.
The review notes that the BBC already produces 7,000 hours of religious programming, mostly made up of "traditional worship and discussion". And the BBC's commissioning strategy says: "We continue to be committed to celebrating the Christian faith on BBC One".
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans said: "There is a place for good quality, informative and entertaining programming about religion and belief. But the BBC's tendency towards sycophancy and fawning coverage isn't appropriate. And by the look of this review the BBC's treatment of religion is about to become even less critical than it already is.
"Improving genuine religion and belief literacy, and producing programming which reflects people from across British society, are worthwhile aims. But that means religion – and the religious views of people from all backgrounds – should be presented in a fair and critically-informed manner. Religion must be criticised as well as defended.
"The BBC went to great lengths to consult faith representatives during the review, so it's unsurprising that the final report has reflected their priorities, but these people are often out of touch, even with many of those for whom they claim to speak.
"And an increase in the BBC's coverage of religion will be incongruous with the fact that religious belief is on the wane in Britain. Most people in Britain are indifferent to religion and don't organise around religious identities. A true commitment to diversity should reflect that."
BBC News also says it will broaden its range of interviewees and contributors to represent "a wider range of opinions and practices". Mr Evans said: "We will watch closely to see if voices critical of religious orthodoxy are marginalised in this process."
BBC director general Tony Hall claimed that audiences from a range of backgrounds supported the changes.
"They recognise that, if we truly want to make sense of the world, we need to understand the systems of belief that underpin it," he said. He added that he wants the corporation "to do more about Christianity and other beliefs as well".
The report said programmes such as Boy with the Topknot, Broken, Muslims Like Us and Radio 4's Living with the Gods were recent examples of its attempts to address stories about a range of religions in engaging ways.
Thought for the Day “inappropriate”, says John Humphrys
Posted: Tue, 31 Oct 2017 12:13
The most senior presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme has described the daily Thought for the Day slot as "inappropriate" and "deeply, deeply boring".
John Humphrys gave his candid assessment in a Radio Times interview with the programme's presenters. Thought for the Day has long been controversial as it gives religious thinkers, mainly Christians, a platform to proselytise, while explicitly excluding non-religious contributors.
Humphrys described the slot as "Deeply, deeply boring, often. Sometimes not. Sometimes it's good and the guy or woman is delivering an interesting thought in a provocative way. Usually not."
He added: "It seems to me inappropriate that Today should broadcast nearly three minutes of uninterrupted religion, given that rather more than half our population have no religion at all. Certainly very few of them are practising Christians… we have Hindus of course, and we have the occasional Muslim, the occasional Jew, but by and large it's Christian. Why?"
Turning to his own colleagues, Humphrys asked, "When you're presenting it, how many times have you said to yourself, 'Dear God, we've got to cut a really fascinating programme short because we're now going to hear somebody tell us that Jesus was really nice, and the world could be a better place if we all…' You know… Oh God."
Humphrys said if it was a slot for secular reflection, "I'd have less of a problem with it. Why can't you have an atheist? Or an agnostic?"
His colleague Justin Webb agreed with some of the criticisms. "They're all roughly the same," Webb said. "'If everyone was nicer to everyone else, it would be fine'. But from my cursory glance around the world, I think a lot of religious people don't want to be nice to each other."
The presenters' criticisms of Thought for the Day echo sentiments expressed by former co-host of the Today programme Evan Davis, who in 2012 complained that the slot "discriminating against the non-religious" and should be opened up to secularists.
Presenters Mishal Husain defended Thought for the Day. "I think it's a bit of punctuation in the programme," she said. "For me it's the time I need to be out of the house, when I'm late."
Anne Atkins, a regular Thought for the Day contributor for the past 21 years, also rejected the suggestion of including secular commentators: "It's like arguing for a 20-line sonnet: it wouldn't be Thought any more. There's another two hours and 57 minutes of the Today programme, nearly all for non-believers."
In 1996, Atkins prompted the Church of England's first ever complaint about Thought for the Day, when she used the slot to attack Anglican bishops for supporting a celebration in Southwark Cathedral marking 20 years of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement.
In February this year, the BBC slapped down the new Today programme editor Sarah Sands after she suggested Thought for the Day should be opened up to non-religious viewpoints.
The National Secular Society has long campaigned for the reform of Thought for the Day. Megan Manson, campaigns officer at the NSS, sided with Humphrys. "It is encouraging to hear senior presenters of the Today programme challenging Thought for the Day," she said. "John Humphrys quite rightly points out that the slot is inappropriate – particularly considering the UK's increasingly irreligious and religiously-diverse landscape."
"On this issue, he seems to have his finger on the pulse of the thoughts and feelings of the general public. It's therefore such a shame that there are others at the BBC are so out of touch.
"We hope that there are those at the BBC who will take Humphrys' remarks seriously, and reform this discriminatory show so that it includes non-religious voices, or scrap it altogether."
The Radio Times article features an online poll, which members of the public can vote in, on the future of Thought for the Day.
Discuss this on Facebook.
