Introduction

Religious and moral issues form a central part of life. They do, therefore, occur frequently in the media.

Religious Issue-

this could be something to do with the very meaning of life or it could be about a particular religious practice. People will discuss such issues animatedly, because beliefs are of the utmost importance to the person who holds them.

Moral Issue -

an issue about what is right or wrong, e.g. whether abortion or euthanasia are morally right or wrong.

At the beginning of religious television broadcasting, it was assumed that audiences would be mainly Christian. Programmes were, therefore, planned with a church-going audience in mind. Then, the pouplation of Britain had far fewer Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims.

Now, in the 21st century, religious broadcasting has changed. David Kremer, who was the programmes editor for BBC Religious Broadcasting, has described the target audience that he was aiming at as the vaguely religious. Such people have a vague or general belief in God and the possibility of a future life, but usually do not go to church - except maybe for "the three times most people go to church" - baptisms, weddings and funerals.

Some programmes are still broadcast for those who have a definite commitment to a religious faith. There are often worship programmes at Christmas or at Easter. Special festivals also merit media coverage. (Ramadan, Jewish New Year, Diwali and so on).

Each of the five terrestrial TV channels hopes to attract at least 20% of viewers at any time. Therefore it is not always possible to spend much time on the faith and beliefs of minority religions. Ethnic minorities account for some 8 to 10% of the population. Having said that, if the 'vaguely religious' element can be attracted then it is likely that more time will be given to minority faiths. A good example of that was in early 2001 when the great 12-yearly, Hindu pilgrimage and festival took place, called Kumbh Mela. This year's gathering was the largest ever gathering of people, in one place for such a festival. This received considerable TV coverage both in News programmes and a specially commissioned series of programmes.

It has to be said that some of these changes have been worrying to some church leaders who see that the quest to please the 'vaguely religious' might result in what the Archbishop of York (1998) referred to as the 'marginalisation of religion'. When he wrote to the government in December 1998, he was especially concerned that there was not going to be a church service on Christmas Day 1998. Instead BBC1 had a programme of popular carols and Christmas music. The evening programme 'The People's Nativity' consisted of celebrities reading from the Christmas story.