Sunday

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia said this week that he wants to return the country to 'moderate Islam'. Gulf analyst Bill Law tells Emily why he believes the Prince is pursuing this policy.On Tuesday a service will be held to mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation in Europe. The Archbishop of Canterbury will present a text supporting an agreement to resolve the theological dispute that divided the churches. Professor Eamon Duffy and Rev Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch will debate if the divisions have been healed.Martin Bashir meets one of the world's leading geneticists who says advances in foetal testing may lead to increased screening for minor abnormalities and non-medical traits - in addition to conditions like Down's Syndrome. The Chief Rabbi has called on Jews around the country to celebrate an authentic Shabbat for ShabbatUK. Trevor Barnes talks to the Chief Rabbi and meets a family who are trying to manage without breaking the rules.Sexual harassment allegations against the film producer Harvey Weinstein have led to a public discussion about how institutions and organisations deal with these serious issues. This week some women in the Church of England have written about their experiences. Emily speaks to The Rev Charlotte Bannister-Parker who says it can be difficult for women to speak out while the Revd Canon Dr Emma Percy says the Church has clear guidelines on dealing with serious complaints. For the last ten years photographer Matt Writtle has been documenting how people spend their Sunday. With fewer people attending church he set out to discover what they are doing on the traditional day of rest.Producers: David Cook Louise Clarke-RowbothamSeries Producer: Amanda HancoxPhoto: Matt Writtle.

Trevor Barnes visits 'Imagining the Divine,' a new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum of some of the oldest religious art from India to Ireland.. Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi is the first person from the African continent to be installed as the new Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome next week. It is a key position in the Anglican Communion and comes as the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches are forging a closer relationship on common issues.Baroness Elizabeth Berridge previews the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief ahead of its launch next week.This week people from the Baha'i faith, will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of their founder's birth. Dr Julia Haviland tells Edward about the faith and the key message of Bahá'u'lláh's life and teaching. The Archers has been bringing us the latest news from the farming community of Ambridge for over 50 years. We will be taking a look at "God in Ambridge" with Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler who has contributed to a new book on The Archers: Custard, Culverts and Cake.In the aftermath of this week's debate on Universal Credit, Kevin Bocquet visits a food bank run by The Trussell Trust and the Bishop of Manchester David Walker comments on the impact the welfare reform is having on claimants. Edward speaks to Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs, about how and why Sikhs were excluded from the Government's Hate Crime Action Plan.Producers Carmel Lonergan Peter EverettEditor Amanda HancoxPhoto Credit : Footprints of the Buddha (c) Trustees of the British Museum.

An Islamic faith school's policy of segregating boys from girls is unlawful sex discrimination, court of appeal judges have ruled. What are the implications? The new global spiritual head of the Swaminarayan Hindu organisation is in the UK this week in the run up to Diwali. Mahant Swami Maharaj's first official visit as leader of the BAPS Swaminarayan sect has been attracting thousands of daily worshippers - Vishva Samani went along to meet them. Senior Anglican Bishops have accused the Church of England's main insurer of "horse-trading" in the way it treats survivors of clergy sex abuse. The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked for a review of the way Lambeth Palace deals with those who have been abused in a church context. Donna Birrell reports.We report from Germany's oldest folk festival that celebrates St Lullus, a monk who travelled from Wiltshire to Germany in the 700s and is credited with spreading Christianity in Europe.A High Court Judge has ruled the Government's policy on torture victims is unlawful. Freedom From Torture tell us what the implications are for vulnerable people when a government changes their definition of torture. Jonathan Clark, Bishop of Croydon and Chair of the Churches' Refugee Network explains his response to the ruling.And ahead of World Food Day on Monday, Bob Walker reports from a church in Bristol hosting an event to highlight the moral issues of food waste.

More than 700 students and families displaced by Hurricane Irma have relocated to Preston to continue their studies at the University of Central Lancashire. Kevin Bocquet looks at how the university providing spiritual and emotional support.After the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of the Franciscan Action Network says "Gun safety is not a political issue. It is a pro-life issue, a moral issue, and an ethical issue. We need to stop just offering prayers and start acting" he debates with Pastor Vance Pitman of Hope Church, Las Vegas.Alex Strangwayes-Booth has been on a "Bring Your Own Religion" pilgrimage with the British Pilgrimage Trust, reviving the tradition of making journeys on foot to holy places.The Scottish Episcopal Church will face sanctions after breaking with Anglican teaching on same-sex marriage. Primus, Bishop Mark Strange talks to William on what this means.Zoe Clark-Coates has lost five pre-term babies. She tells William why she and her husband, Andy, set up a charity the Mariposa Trust Melvyn Bragg on why it is a disgrace that society has deemed the Bible too complicated, describing the King James version as one of the greatest pieces of art ever produced.The Nobel Peace Prize 2017 has been awarded to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Russell Whiting from Christian CND talks to us about faith based promotion of the campaign.Producers Carmel Lonergan Peter EverettEditor Amanda HancoxPhoto Credit: University of Central Lancashire.

Emily Buchanan hears from John Ponitfex from the charity Aid to the Church in Need. He's just returned from Nineveh Plains where he says thousands of Christians to are returning home now that Daesh have been forced out of the area. What is the future they are facing? What impact has the recent Referendum on Kurdish independence had on them?The Tohono O'odham are a federally recognised American Indian Nation in South Western Arizona. The word Tohono O'odham means 'desert people.' Prior to the mid 19th century their lands stretched right across the Sonoran desert into Mexico. Since then, a 62 mile border has divided the community in two, but this border has been semi-permeable with tribal members continuing to travel to their ancestral lands. President Trump's plan for a fortified wall threatens that. Penny Boreham reports.The leaders of the Provinces within the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury on Monday. Three of them will stay away because they believe they can no longer remain in fellowship with the Anglican church in USA and the Scottish Episcopal church who have approved gay marriage, and with Canada which looks set to do so. Sanctions against the SEC are likely to be announced on Tuesday. The BBC's Religious correspondent Martin Bashir is following the conference.Helen Grady reports from Italy where Muslims are struggling to find places to pray together, and Trevor Barnes reports on the impact of the Balfour Declaration on religious communities in the Middle East. Producers Rosie Dawson and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Series Producer: Amanda HancoxPhotograph by Phia Saban.

An estimated 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016, according to new global statistics. David Westlake, CEO of International Justice Mission UK explains the aims of this weekend's 'Freedom Sunday' church campaign.A mum has accused a school of religious discrimination after teachers ordered her son to cut his dreadlocks. Theologian, Prof Robert Beckford, explores the significance of hair for the Rastafari faith, to which the family belongs. Shadow Schools Minister Mike Kane will be launching 'Catholics for Labour' at the Labour Party conference in Brighton. He reveals his hopes for the new group. Yollande Knell reports on how minority groups in Iraq - in particular, followers of the ancient Yazidi faith - have been leading the calls for an international investigation into crimes committed by so-called Islamic State.A senior Anglican academic is calling on the Church of England not to appoint any 'traditionalists' - those opposed to women priests - as bishops, until a third of all bishops are women. Edward Stourton puts Very Rev Prof Martyn Percy's comments to the prominent Anglo-Catholic Bishop of Wakefield, Rt Rev Tony Robison.A Sikh organisation has successfully lobbied for their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, to be returned from a magistrates court in Cardiff, arguing that the court was not equipped to handle the scriptures appropriately. Dr Jasjit Singh, an expert on Sikh affairs, explains the issues. Willesden Cemetery in North West London, nicknamed the "Rolls-Royce of Jewish cemeteries", has just been given a Grade II listing status. Trevor Barnes has been to visit it.Producers: Dan Tierney and Carmel Lonergan Series Producer: Amanda Hancox Photo: Jewan Abdi.

New research suggests that a quarter of England's secondary schools are not offering Religious Education, despite the fact that it is a legal obligation to do so. Alex Strangways-Booth reports.This week, Israel's Supreme Court decided that ultra-Orthodox Jews are no longer exempt from military service. Edward explores the importance of this decision.Bob Walker has been to meet monks from Tibet currently touring the UK.It has been reported this week that 80% of calls to the police are not crime related. They are often from people with problems who simply have nowhere else to turn. Police Forces have been paying charities to run programmes to help these callers. Edward talks to Mike Royal, Church Engagement Team Leader at the Cinnamon Network, which runs projects funded by the Police.Fergus Butler-Gallie, a Church of England ordinand, has put together a 'Glossary of commonly-misunderstood words from the Book of Common Prayer'. He'll be shedding light on the meaning of words from the 16th century that are still spoken in churches today.Professor Ronald Hutton talks to William Crawley about his latest book on witches.Over 100 MPs have signed a letter to The National Statistics Authority calling for British Sikhs to be classified as an ethnic group on the next census form. Jas Singh, from the Sikh Network, is in favour but journalist Sunny Hundal, who writes on issues affecting the Sikh community, does not agree.In 2014, the Taliban attacked a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, and killed 150 children and staff. Anwar Nawaz was 14 at the time and survived by playing dead. He talks to Edward about that day and why he is encouraging British children make the most of their education. Producers: Helen Lee Rajeev GuptaEditor: Amanda Hancox.

After 9 staff have been suspended following an edition of Panorama this week on the Immigration Removal Centre, Brook House, William talks to Rev Nathan Ward about his experience of working at this and another detention centre.The American Catholic Church hits back at Steve Bannon after he questioned their motives for defending DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, which President Trump has announced he is closing.Middle East Correspondent Yolande Knell tells William about her trip to Qaraqosh, the biggest Christian town in Iraq, which has been retaken from so-called Islamic State.Following the publication of the National Social Attitudes Survey which reported only 15% of the population are affiliated to the Church of England, Trevor Barnes asks how much longer can the Church remain the established Church of England.And why are Cathedrals and in particular Choral Evensong increasing in popularity?Producers: Amanda Hancox Rajeev Gupta.

Edward Stourton looks back on the life of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and speaks to his successor as Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols.Following the row about the reporting of a fostering case involving Muslim carers this week, Kevin Bocquet explores the issues surrounding religious fostering and adoption.Father David Bergeron from the Catholic Charismatic Centre in Houston explains the impact of the floods on the lives of his community in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The number of Muslims from Myanmar's minority Rohingya community fleeing across the border into Bangladesh is now in the tens of thousands, following violent clashes with security forces this week. The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder has been speaking to refugees at the border crossing.Pope Francis travels to Colombia to promote reconciliation following a peace deal last November which brought 52 years of civil war to an end. The controversial Indian guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of rape last week, claimed to have 60 million devotees. Rahul Tandon profiles his life and the influence of guru culture in India.Producers: Dan Tierney and Rosie Dawson Series producer: Amanda Hancox.

This week more than 100 of the world's top robotics experts wrote to the UN calling for a ban on the development of "killer robots" and the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted that artificial intelligence safety was 'vastly more a risk than North Korea'. AI already changing our lives; from driver-less cars to caring for the elderly. Should the technology that drives AI be designed with a set of moral and ethical codes and how should it be regulated? Bob Walker reports from the Sheffield Robotics Centre.The theologian Andrew Graystone is joined by the AI assistant Alexa as he ponders the possibility that one day we might be able to create a robot with human qualities.The Bishop of Oxford Stephen Croft, Rabbi Moshi Freedman, anthropologist Beth Singler from the Faraday Institute and Kriti Sharma, VP of AI at Sage debate and discuss the application of AI and why its development needs to be considered within a moral and ethical framework. Edward Stourton also asks the Bishop of Oxford why he believes faith leaders should have a say in the development and legislation of artificial intelligence.Last week, a Russian court banned translations of the Jehovah's Witness bible. It's the latest in a string of rulings against the religious group, which the Russian courts have declared to be extremist. Anastasia Golubeva reports from Moscow. A recently discovered manuscript gives us a glimpse into how fourth century churchgoers would have heard the gospels. The Latin interpretation was discovered in the library of Cologne Cathedral. Dr Hugh Houghton from the Dept of Theology and Religion at Birmingham University has been collaborating on the translation and tells Edward what they have found.Producers: David Cook Carmel LonerganEditor: Christine Morgan.