English Cathedrals
In summer 2019, Rochester Cathedral hosted a crazy golf course, Norwich Cathedral installed a helter-skelter, Lichfield Cathedral projected a lunar landscape on the floor [...]
British Social Attitudes
The British Social Attitudes report 2018 finds a rise in 'confident atheism' in Britain and a 'dramatic decline' in identification with Christian denominations, particularly [...]
Fact Sheets
FACT SHEETS
Hillsong Church
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- Hillsong Church is an Australian Evangelical “mega church” with branches in 23 countries worldwide, including the UK.
- It is a Pentecostal Church affiliated […]
Yoga in Britain
by Suzanne Newcombe
OVERVIEW
- Yoga, which is spreading in popularity across the globe, represents a flexible and […]
“The re-emergence of religion in the public square is one of the biggest and most significant paradigm shifts of recent times.”
GRAHAM WARD
Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford
There are 7.5 billion people in the world and an estimated 85% identify with a religious group. The biggest religion is Christianity, accounting for about one-third of the earth’s population. The next is Islam whose adherents make up about one-quarter of the world’s inhabitants. There are about one billion Hindus, 500 million Buddhists, 14 million Jews and many smaller faith groups http://www.pewforum.org/.
Understanding religion and belief is and will remain central to public life and debate, however significant the growth of secularism. Tens of millions of people in the UK continue to identify with a religious faith and we all have frequent encounters with people of all faiths and beliefs. Religious literacy is essential to understanding the world in which we live and our daily interactions across all levels of society, in the public, private and voluntary sectors.
The media plays a key role in developing and enhancing this understanding. The Religion Media Centre has no editorial line nor does it promote any one religion, or religious belief in general. Instead, it exists to provide accurate, timely and relevant information to the media, enabling the public to be better informed and promoting decision-making based on fact, not prejudice or stereotypes.
Religion and Media festival
Exploring Belief, the second Religion and Media festival, was held at the JW3 Centre in north London on 30 April 2019. The keynote speaker, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, said: “The media has not covered religion as well as it might; not given it space, time or quality of knowledge that it should have done. And yet religion is essential in understanding what is going on in the world.” An audience of media professionals, academics, faith representatives and others, listened as the theme was picked up with panel discussions on how religion is understood; the stories still waiting to be told; and the impact of social media on the transmission of religion. Punchy, provocative polemics included the story of a young Jamaican Muslim rapper, Tanya Muneera Williams, who was spat on and abused by a gang. How has the media, she asked, contributed to the normalisation of hate? Read a full report of the festival here
So, Kanye West’s “Sunday services” are partly inspired by Hillsong, according to media reports
Reporting on Hillsong and want some more info?
https://t.co/iJXMP1y4nq
https://t.co/1QNqhxotsJ
Interesting point in response to this piece about cathedrals and wider engagement
https://t.co/uTb8y4T6kv
@RelMedCentre @LichfieldCath @RochesterCathed @Nrw_Cathedral The irony is that the public is more engaged with cathedrals than it is with parish churches. I don't object to these projects, I see them as money raising activities, and rather silly - but the church is often rather silly, so nothing to get excited about; it's not unusual.