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 allows Today programme to be used to promote Church’s evangelism campaign
Posted: Thu, 1 Jun 2017 12:36
The National Secular Society has criticised the BBC for allowing the first Thought for the Day slot of June to be used by the Church of England as a platform to promote its latest evangelism initiative.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on Radio 4 about the Church's 'Thy Kingdom Come' campaign, which invites "more people to come to know Jesus Christ".
NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans said, "It's bad enough that the BBC dedicates part of its flagship news programme to offer an unchallenged platform for religion, but allowing Thought for the Day to be used as free advertising slot for the Church of England really takes the biscuit. It further calls into question the appropriateness of this anachronistic and discriminatory slot."
In February, the BBC slapped down the new Today programme editor after she suggested Thought for the Day should be opened up to humanists.
Shortly after her appointment, the NSS wrote to Sarah Sands, urging her to use her influence as editor to rethink the slot.
Despite sitting within the Today programme, Thought for the Day is produced by the BBC's religious affairs department – and the BBC has repeatedly insulated Thought for the Day from any reform.
The slot's editorial policy explicitly discriminates against the non-religious as they are the only group barred from contributing.
In its letter to Ms Sands, the NSS suggested that Thought for the Day should be opened up to non-religious contributors, turning the daily segment into an "ethical current affairs reflection slot."
Otherwise, the discriminatory slot should be renamed 'Religious thought for the day' and moved away from Radio 4's flagship news programme and into a more suitable timeslot reflecting its niche status, the NSS said.
BBC to increase non-Christian religious broadcasting
Posted: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:14
After criticising itself for devoting too much of its religious broadcasting to Christianity, the BBC is to consider increasing its religious broadcasting to allow more time for minority faiths.
Religious leaders have been invited by BBC director-general Lord Hall to "join discussions about plans for multi-faith coverage," the Times reported.
The Muslim Council of Britain has asked the BBC to consider broadcasting Islamic prayers.
The Times reported that an increase in broadcasting for minority faiths "would not be at the expense of Christian output" suggesting the BBC will move towards an overall increase in religious programming.
A BBC source told the Independent: "The BBC will do more to represent faiths across the board, and has specifically rejected the notion of in any way diminishing what it does around Christianity."
Another BBC source told the Times that "Faith is remarkably important. The BBC can and must do more to ensure that the important role faith plays is recognised and reflected in our programming."
NSS campaigns director Stephen Evans said: "It's not the job of the BBC to promote religion. By ignoring the fact that religious broadcasting is the least popular genre amongst its viewers, the BBC risks alienating the non-religious majority.
"There are numerous niche channels offering round-the-clock religious programming for people that want that sort of thing. There is no need for the BBC to ramp up religious programming that few people are interested in. Increasing the total amount of religious broadcasting will simply mean producing more content that very few people enjoy or watch.
"There is a place for informative and thought-provoking religious programming that reflects the religion and belief demographics in the UK, but simply broadcasting acts of worship or religious messages would be the totally wrong approach."
