The BBC has dropping a scheduled Easter service broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge following pressure from anti-Christian groups.
The broadcast was traditionally one of the cornerstones of the BBC's Easter coverage but was quietly dropped from the schedule just days before it was due to air. A BBC source claims that pressure from both outside, and inside, the corporation has seen Easter 'downgraded' in importance compared to others.
The BBC now claim that there is still sufficient 'religious programming' across the their network but fails to mention much of that 'religious' programming isn't even Christian, with a number of the broadcasts being for other faiths, or of no faith at all.
One such 'religious broadcast' is the Good Friday edition of Desert Island Discs which traditionally has a Christian figure in the chair but this year has “confirmed atheist” and humanist campaigner Alice Roberts. Ms Roberts, the professor of public engagement in science at the University of Birmingham and vice-president and anti-Christian organisation Humanist UK, refused the Desert Island Discs tradition of taking a Bible with her, alongside the Complete Works of Shakespeare.
Critics have said the BBC appeared to be deliberately abandoning the part of its audience that professed the Christian faith.
Andrea Williams, the chief executive of Christian Concern, said: “The BBC’s motto, ‘Nation shall speak peace unto nation’, is Biblical in origin. The more the BBC seeks to forget and minimise the primary role of the Christian faith shaping this nation, the darker all things will become. Easter reminds us of Christ’s victory over death, which is a good-news message for us all.”
But the BBC has rejected claims that it is ignoring the role of Christianity and religion in general after dropping the King’s College Easter service, which was shown on BBC Two last year and had been on television since 2010.
It's now a 'diverse range of content'.
The corporation claim its Faith and Hope for Spring 2024 season will “showcase a vibrant mix of programmes across TV and radio channels, shining a spotlight on faith at a time when many of the major religions are marking key moments in the calendar”. They go on to say their Religious department produces a ‘Diverse range of content’ which is code for every other religion except that of Christianity.
Daisy Scalchi, the head of religion and ethics on BBC Television, said: “This is such a special time of year and we’re delighted to work across our networks to bring viewers a diverse range of content that brings faith, belief and spirituality into focus.”
Offensive to Muslims.
However, it is known that Muslim groups have been campaigning for more Islamic content on the network, with some activists routinely complaining to the BBC of their 'exclusionary' broadcasting. The same activists also complain that Christian broadcasts are offensive to Muslims and it is thought to be this that is at the root of the BBC's decision. A closer examination of what is labelled 'religious content' is now, in fact, either criticising Christianity or 'new-age' religions such as 'Spirituality' or 'Humanism'. The BBC have featured Ramadan in several of its broadcasts, whilst it drops Christian content at the same time.