Perhaps what I wrote wasn't clear. I suggested that new immigrants are more likely than others to have a religion.…
Dear Mette Thanks very much for your observation, which I have posted online. Unfortunately, we have had no national censuses…
Net migration to the UK has added at least two million people over the past decade, most of whom will…
I have read a 10 year old article about the positive effect of immigrant communities on Church attendance in the…
Eddie You can email them to c.d.field@bham.ac.uk Best wishes. Clive
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2 responses to “Thought for the Day”
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It is probably worth noting that Ekklesia is not a dispassionate observer of this scene. They campaign for the inclusion of non-religious voices in TFTD. In fact, co-director Jonathan Bartley made this point during a TFTD slot and has not been invited back since – he blames this stance for the reason he has not been invited back.
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Regarding the anonymous comments above, can I offer some factual clarifications: 1. The researcher involved was not directed in her findings; and indeed there was a lengthy discussion about how Ekklesia would present them in order to make sure that any subsequent views we expressed were distinguished, as appropriate, from her independent work. 2. Ekklesia does not ‘campaign’ for the inclusion of non-religious voices on TfTD. As part of an ongoing debate we have, however, set out why, on both broadcasting and theological grounds, we think there is no need to exclude them. 3. Jonathan Bartley did not make this point during a TfTD slot (though he was a regular contributor in 2007). He did, however, answer questions on the issue on the Today programme and in a subsequent R4 discussion with a BBC executive. 4. No-one is ‘blaming’ anyone for anything. The facts are that, in a subsequent exchange, BBC Religion and Ethics made it clear that as a result of his views about opening up the slot, Jonathan would not be invited back as a contributor. His ‘Thoughts’ had previously been commended by the Corporation. We (deliberately) chose not to make an issue of this at the time, or even to publicise it. It has subsequently come onto the public record, but it is not a factor either in this report, or in the previous preliminary one – which sets out the background to the debate (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/research/thought_for_the_day). We hope these documents will be appraised and responded to on the basis of their content, and that they will enrich a debate which has seemed high in opinion and octane, but low on data and analysis.
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