Religion Media Festival taking place today
The Religion Media Festival is taking place today at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. The programme includes interviews with Cathy Newman, Channel 4 News presenter, awarded RTS Network Television Journalist of the year for her report exposing John Smyth’s abuse and the Church of England’s failure to act. Later in the day, there’s an interview with Sir Mark Thompson, chief executive of CNN and former director-general of the BBC, on the role of the media and religion in the US and the challenges for public service broadcasting. There are panel discussions on British Muslims, British Jews, the media’s role in community cohesion and “Millennials, Faith and the Digital Space”. Reporters who specialise in religion will be answering questions on their work. The full programme is here
Bishop steps down from leading Living in Love and Faith project
The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, has announced that he is stepping down as lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith process, which is discussing sexuality and blessings for same sex couples. The issue has caused bitter division with conservative evangelicals opposed to same sex relationships demanding a parallel system of bishops who agree with them, threatening schism. Bishop Martyn issued his statement on Facebook on Friday afternoon, saying: “With a very heavy heart, I have decided to step down from my role as Lead Bishop for Living in Love and Faith. I am hugely grateful to the staff team that I have worked with over the last 18 months and similarly the Working Group members who have given hours of their time to seek an agreed way forward in the Church of England on matters of sexuality, relationships, and marriage. I hope it may yet be possible to reach such an agreement, but I don’t think that can happen under my leadership. I will not be making any further comments”. He had been tipped as one of the leading contenders for the role as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Following the statement, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, and the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said they were saddened at Martyn Snow’s decision and that he had made an “invaluable contribution” to the LLF process. The issue remains on the agenda for a debate by the general synod next February.
Job description issued for next Archbishop of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury has published a job description for the next Archbishop of Canterbury, listing requirements of integrity, servant leadership, compassion to the marginalised, understanding young people, speaking out on political issues, ordaining and consecrating women, and continuing the LLF process. The job description then goes on to describe the expectations in regard to the diocese itself, facing challenges of church attendance decline, financial sustainability, deprivation and small rural parishes. The applications will be considered by 17 members of the Crown Nominations Commission, which held its first meeting in May and is expected to meet again in July and September before announcing the name in the autumn. The vacancy arose after Justin Welby resigned following criticism of the church’s failure to stop serial abuser John Smyth.
Lord’s Prayer more recognisable than Shakespeare or Star Wars
The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most widely recognised texts in the UK, more easily identified than quotes from Shakespeare, Churchill or even Star Wars. Research commissioned by the Church of England, found 89 per cent said they had heard it and 80.3 per cent correctly identified “Give us this day our daily bread” from the prayer. The line most meaningful to people was “…and forgive us our trespasses…” selected by 43 per cent overall. The second most recognised quote was from Star Wars, “May the force be with you”. Other quotes in the survey were “To be or not to be”, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and “Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few”. The research was done to coincide with Pentecost Sunday, 8 June, and the global prayer initiative “The Kingdom Come”. Story here
Labour losing Muslim support over Gaza stance and Islamophobia, survey finds
A survey, conducted by the Labour Muslim Network has found dissatisfaction with the party’s position on Israel’s war on Gaza and concerns about Islamophobia within the party. It says the findings “tell the story of a growing chasm between the Labour Party and its Muslim representatives” indicating that the party is steadily losing their trust and confidence. The survey was based on responses from 221 out of 477 eligible Muslim elected officials within the Labour Party, including MPs, councillors, and mayors. It found 77 percent of respondents believe the UK government should end all arms exports to Israel. 84 percent support imposing sanctions on the Israeli government, 97 percent support the immediate recognition of the state of Palestine. On the Labour party’s response to Muslims, 58 percent said the party had failed to represent British Muslims adequately and 66 percent said they did not believe Muslim representatives were treated equally within the party. One-third said they had personally experienced Islamophobia and more than half of respondents said they did not believe Labour takes Islamophobia seriously. Survey is here
Death threats against man who burned Quran outside Turkish Embassy
Hamit Coskun, who has been fined for burning the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in London, has received a police warning of a terror plot to murder him. His lawyers told The Telegraph that “Coskun was woken by officers acting on behalf of the Metropolitan Police at 2am on Saturday, who told him of an imminent threat”. Coskun convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence. He has been moved to a safe house after video of the incident was shown online. The Met Police told The Telegraph: “There remains an ongoing police investigation in relation to allegations of threats to kill against a 50-year-old male. Given the investigation is ongoing, we won’t be able to comment further at this stage.”
Rabbi attacked in Paris suburb amid surge in antisemitic incidents
French police have detained a man originally from Gaza, after Rabbi Elie Lemmel was struck on the head with a chair, while sitting at a café in Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of Paris, on Friday. Lemmel is a well known French Orthodox rabbi, educator, and public speaker, with thousands of social media followers. Days earlier, he reported being punched and insulted in Normandy. He told Reuters: “Unfortunately, given my beard and my kippah, I suspected that was probably why, and it’s such a shame”. The man detained is aged 28 and has been hospitalized after a psychiatric evaluation. Earlier this week, multiple Jewish sites in Paris were vandalised with green paint in antisemitic attacks. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal condemned the attack on the Rabbi, calling antisemitism a “deadly poison.” Jewish News reports that France is home to over 440,000 Jews, the most of any European country, and there were 1,570 antisemitic acts in 2024, accounting for more than half of the religion-based hate crimes in the country.
India will include questions about caste in national census
India will include questions about caste, in its first census for 16 years, which will take place next year. The Associated Press explains that there are hundreds of caste groups based on occupation and economic status across India, particularly among Hindus. But the question of caste has not been asked in a census since independence, when in 1951, only Dalits and Adivasis were counted, alongside members of disadvantaged and marginalised groups. The report says that successive Indian governments have resisted updating caste data, arguing that it could lead to social unrest. The last official census in 2011 counted 1.21 billion people, but the population is now estimated to be well over 1.4 billion, making it the world’s most populous country
Renowned Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann dies aged 92
Professor Walter Brueggemann, the American Biblical scholar renowned for his work on “The Prophetic Imagination” has died aged 92. He was emeritus professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, in Atlanta, Georgia and the author of 100 books. His key idea on Old Testament prophecy revolved around judgment and hope, emphasising the prophetic imagination to see a better world and the seeds of hope within it. Prophets, he said, were rooted in the covenantal traditions and were “completely uncredentialed and without pedigree, so they just rise up in the landscape. The way I put it now is that they imagined their contemporary world differently according to that old tradition. So it’s tradition and imagination. There’s no way to explain that, so we explain it by the work of the spirit”.
