Sunday

This week Pope Leo XIV launched the first encyclical of his pontificate. He broke with tradition and presented it himself and addressed the following challenges: how humanity should respond to the AI revolution, the church's historic complicity in slavery, and whether the church's teaching on Just War Theory is still fit for purpose in an age of drone strikes and AI targeting. William Crawley talks to Anna Rowlands, Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice at Durham University.
A diet inspired by the Bible has found new audiences online in America. We hear from an influencer who gives nutritional advice which she claims is rooted in Biblical wisdom and Christian principles, and from Nathan MacDonald, Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Testament at Cambridge University.
And, most of us in the UK face a choice between two options for what happens to our bodies after death: burial or cremation. But there is a growing campaign to make another option available in England and Wales: human composting. William speaks to Kristoffer Hughes, Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, who is campaigning for change.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Alexa Good and Katy Booth
Studio Managers: Isabelle Whitehead, Phillip Halliwell and Andrew Dick
Editor: Tim Pemberton

As the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues, the World Health Organisation has classified the regional risk as “very high”, while maintaining that the global risk remains low. Aid agencies say faith leaders are playing an important role in helping communities respond to the virus and challenge misinformation. William Crawley speaks to Poppy Anguandia, Country Director in the DRC for Tearfund, about the work being carried out with churches and mosques in affected areas.
Two thousand ancient Jain manuscripts have been transferred to new custodians in the UK, in a move welcomed by members of the Jain community and scholars alike. The collection is expected to support preservation efforts and improve public and academic access to important religious texts.
And a £48 million funding boost for heritage projects across the UK prompts fresh debate about how the nation preserves its religious and cultural history for future generations.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & James Leesley
Editor: Rajeev Gupta

The build up to the by-election in Makerfield is likely to be the only political story in town in the coming weeks. Reform UK is pledging to throw everything at the race to stop Andy Burnham's ambitions to be Prime Minister. Another potential contender in any contest, Wes Streeting, has spoken openly about his Anglican Christian faith. Angela Rayner has described herself as not being religious. We explore how faith can play a role in politics.
An evangelical church in Essex has launched an appeal against an order preventing “intimidating behaviour” by its members preaching on the street. The Bread of Life Community Church in Colchester, allegedly told passers-by they were going to hell. Colchester City Council has applied to police to issue a community protection notice. The Church maintains it's preaching a message of God's love. The case raises a lot of questions - not least about the lines preachers may or may not cross legally.
What is public opinion on street preachers and has that changed?
Who helped and who didn’t echoes still as one of history's most searing questions in the wake of the Holocaust. As well as the countries who fought against Nazis in the war - the light has often been shone on heroic individuals who risked their own lives to save persecuted Jewish people. Are there lessons to be learned in understanding which local communities, and specifically religious groups, refused to look the other way and which ones did? This is the subject of the annual Alfred Wiener Holocaust Memorial Lecture tomorrow by Professor Mary Fulbrook, who was brought up as a Quaker.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Katy Booth and Alexa Good
Studio managers: Becky Marcus and Catherine Everatt
Editor: Tim Pemberton

As Sir David Attenborough turns 100, we ask what his lifelong work revealing the natural world has meant not just scientifically, but spiritually. Emily Buchanan speaks to the Bishop of Norwich, Rt Revd Graham Usher, an ecologist and Church of England lead bishop on the environment.
Also on the programme, we explore religious and spiritual connections in 125 years of Black music-making in Britain. The first paid exhibition at the new V&A East museum is on until the 3rd of January 2027. The Sunday programme hears from lead curator, Jacqueline Springer.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said "every part of society" has a responsibility to tackle antisemitism in the UK, and announced an extra £1.5 million of funding to strengthen community cohesion, as a new YouGov survey claims 63% of Britons see antisemitism as a major problem. The survey also claims that 57% of the public say there is a problem with Islamophobia in British society. Emily Buchanan hears from two members of the Jewish and Muslim community working on interfaith dialogue and initiatives. Laura Janner-Klausner, Rabbi of Bromley Reform Synagogue, and Julie Siddiqi- Co-chair of the British Muslim Network.
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Rebecca Kelly
Studio Managers: Kelly Young & Ethan Connolly-Forster
Editor: Chloe Walker

A special edition of Sunday marking a year since the election of Pope Leo XIV