A few weeks ago I questioned the BBC's selection process for the position of Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC. The job was given to Aaqil Ahmed as my post suggested. Ahmed is a Muslim and there was much talk about him not having the experience or ability to do the job but my objection was his religion made him unsuitable for the post.
The BBC is the public broadcasting service in a Christian country. Why are we allowing the bosses to be so insensitive and appoint a Muslim as the Head of Religion? We pay their wages with our licence fee payments. Is it time to withdraw payment until they start acting with some common sense?
Tory Poppins gives her opinion about this appointment and it could well be the view of others. It certainly is mine.
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Maybe the BBC need a 'head of ethics', but I fail to see why they need a 'head of religion'. You say this is a Christian country - I dispute this, we are a secular democracy, not some theocracy. The 'head of religion', whatever wacky belief system he/she follows certainly does not represent me!
If the BBC chooses to waste our money on such non-jobs then I agree it needs action, but which particular brand of 'sky-fairyism' the person holding the job follows is completely irrelevant to me; I cannot imagine myself ever watching any television programme, or listening to any radio programme, about the fantasies that some people inexplicably comfort themselves with.
Candidly ;)
Morning Bill. I think this still is a Christian country and the majority of the people do try to live by Christian values, although not very successfully.
Most people have a belief of some kind from Christianity to existentialism. As humans we need to find some form of spiritual comfort don't we?
I see where you're coming from though Bill but can you see where we're going when the BBC are making such appointments? Like you I seldom watch or listen to religious programmes. I prefer a good book.
I don't think the state should be funding any sort of religious broadcasting. Freedon of religion and freedom from religion are imnportant freedoms in amodern secular state and must be guarded with all vigour. Happy for the BBC to discuss religion, but it is not the state's role to encourage or discourage religion.
Morning cnp, I would agree with you but it's hard to divide religion from the State when the Queen is the head of the church of England don't you think?
Most folks in the UK are nominal Christians. We may not go to church but still celebrate our religious festivals -which in truth are older than Christianity. Our culture, our attitudes, our way of life - all to some degree stem from our Christian heritage.
Personally I think it is arrogant to believe that any religion has an inside track to God. Never-the-less, the UK has a culture that for 16,000 years was centered around Christianity, and to deny that heritage is to dishonour our forefathers and hand the future over to those of a different creed, culture, and way of life. Which is exactly what the BBC has done.
Very well said scunnert.
Apologies - that should, of course, have read - a culture that for 1,600 years was centered around Christianity.
It's irrelevant, of course, as most people are not religious. Rather characteristic of the BBC, I suppose, which is also blowing gaskets trying to shore up Brown and New Labour in the teeth of widespread agnosticism.
It's tokenism by the BEEB. I understand that the rainbow of ethnic types fronting their programmes is not reflected in the staff behind them or at the top, which remains resolutely white and C of E.
cnp has a point - the specific cultural superstition doesn't matter - that any of this nutty stuff should be promoted with our tax pounds is unacceptable.
The Xtian festivals are mostly pagan pre-christian (the main ones are the old quarter-days). Most of the mythology in the bible is a rehash of earlier Zoroastrianism - Zoroaster at least got a good tune.
I'm not overly concerned over the religion of this appointment, as BBC run Thought for the Day on Radio 4 with a range of religious commentators who provide very interesting and insightful observations from all traditions.
Also, public perception of Islam is skewed - there are concepts which are wholly misunderstood, particularly in the context of a "war on terror". This might actually be a helpful appointment.
However, I am concerned about the unaccountable PC agenda which almost certainly means that it would be virtually impossible to appoint an (err) non-minority Christian to the post. This isn't fair and contributes to tension.
Braw tune Vronsky I have to admit.
I have a soft spot for certain pagan festivals. Living near the Pictish stones, there are a few very small ones which occur here and a sense of humanity is usually present. Rather a comfortable feeling.
Must support my ancestors you see :)
Your last paragraph sums up the future Jess. The BBC still set the agenda of the country.
... but can you see where we're going when the BBC are making such appointments?Can you be a little more explicit what you have in mind when you write this? The BBC has no business being a kind of 'salesman' or 'talisman' of religion of any kind; in fact, why am I still obliged to pay a licence fee simply for owning a television receiver (*) even if I never watch the Beeb?
(*) In fact simple ownership of a television receiver is not in law, apparently, a sufficient ground for the Beeb to extort a licence fee from someone, although they try to say different - there have it seems, however, been recent successful challenges to this fiction. If you use your television receiver only to watch viedos or dvds and not to receive broadcast signals then you do NOT need a licence, although even if you watch only other broadcasters transmissions you do still need a licence. Read more here:
http://tv-licensing.blogspot.com/
The licence fee needs to be drastically reduced. I've looked at that site Bill and there's a lot of technical jargon for folk who know what to do. Very intriguing facts though.
The BBC licence fee data base, along with the DVLA, were the first efforts of government towards having all our lives on computer.
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