For all the chat about Thought for the Day’s promotion of religion, some have detected an anti-Christian bias on the airwaves, it was revealed today.
On Radio 4′s Feedback show earlier, presenter Roger Bolton heard complaints from religious listeners who claimed BBC comedy shows single out Christianity for criticism.
The Reverend Simon Douglas Lane, phoning in from Staines said: “In recent weeks, I’ve noticed an unremitting assualt on the Christian faith in the 6.30pm slot. Whether from Jeremy Hardy in the News Quiz, Andy Hamilton in Old Harry’s Game, and in the Now Show, which has an extended pop at Christianity.”
A brief listen to Andy Hamilton’s send-up of life in Hell illustrates the Reverend’s point nicely. Large chunks of the series are close-to-the-bone pisstakes of Christian belief. As the complainants said, would the BBC have aired similar satires for Judaism or Islam? No chance.
Acting head of BBC Radio Comedy Gareth Edwards admitted that Christianity was picked on in particular.
An aetheist myself, I can see the Christians’ point. After such a self-consciously exhaustive exploration of all things Darwin this year, its broad-mindedness is hard to dispute.
Indeed, BBC Religion does have a tough job balancing faith representation across the output, but it may be too busy defending pluralism to remember Britain’s largest faith group too.
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April 5, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Annabel
I think the dude on feedback was right that comedians on programmes such as The Now Show are anti-establishment, and christianity is – like it or not – still very much part of the establishment. (Maybe accept it as a fair deal in exchange for thought for the day?!)
But I do think there’s also truth that people are spooked about saying anything against Islam after the Danish cartoon furore et al, and I think there should be more equanimity where possible.
April 6, 2009 at 8:31 am
BB
From the point of the BBC, christianity is definitely the establishment religion(songs of praise? bells on sunday? prayer for the say? sunday worship?) and therefore christians should accept that it will get satirised more than the others because of this.