January 18, 2010
Religion on TV either marginalised or freak show, clergy complain 0
The Church of England is to debate the "sensationalist and unduly critical nature" of religious programming on British television amid growing discontent about a decline in output.
Bishops, clergy and laity will hear next month that UK channels "which were once exemplary" in their coverage of religious and ethical issues now marginalise those "few remaining programmes" that focus on these subjects.
In a private member’s motion, Nigel Holmes, a member of the general synod of the Church of England from the Carlisle diocese and a former BBC producer, will tell the general synod that output of the BBC’s religious programmes has dropped by a third in a decade.
ITV’s programming decline, meanwhile, has been "far steeper", he says, dropping from 110 hours a year a decade ago to "next to nothing". BBC 3 has only featured religion "from the angle of a freak show" while Channel 4′s treatment of Christianity has been particularly "sensationalist and critical" when compared with shows on other religions, he says.
• Full story at The Guardian.
