What causes religions to change beliefs or traditions which have been in place for hundreds of years? For centuries the Jewish people offered animal sacrifices daily in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Catholic Church condemned Galileo for teaching that the sun, rather than the earth, is the centre of our universe. Soon we may have female Bishops in the Church of England and some churches in the UK may be prepared to marry gay couples. Is it inevitable that religions which emerged two or three millennia ago will adapt and shift with ever increasing social, cultural and scientific change? How do you distinguish between eternal truth and the culturally conditioned?
Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the way in which religions change are Dr Linda Woodhead, Professor in the Sociology of Religion in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University; Dr Yaakov Wise, Research Fellow in the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester; and Dr Gavin Flood, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Oxford.