Defining church, US religious electorate, Prison Reform

In this week’s US election, Donald Trump secured the backing of 80% of white evangelical Christian voters. We hear insights from Rev. Robert M. Franklin, Jr., a senior fellow at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and Walter Kim, President of the National Association of Evangelicals.John Smyth ran Christian summer camps in Dorset during the 1970s and 1980s. His “horrific” and violent abuse of over 100 boys and young men was concealed by the Church of England for decades, according to a new report. Edward Stourton speaks with Andrew Graystone, author of Bleedings For Jesus: John Smyth and the Cult of the Iwerne Camps, and Dr Joanne Grenfell, Area Bishop of Stepney and safeguarding lead bishop for the Church of England.Guildford, Surrey, has had a Jewish community for centuries, though it has lacked a rabbi since the expulsion of Jews from England 750 years ago. Now, change is afoot as Alex Goldberg has recently been appointed the town’s new rabbi.Presenter: Edward Stourton Producers: Katy Davis & Amanda Hancox Studio Managers: Amy Brennan & Helen Williams Editor: Rajeev Gupta

Edward Stourton presents a special US edition of 'Sunday' from Atlanta, in which he reports on the religious vote from the Bible Belt battleground state of Georgia. With unique access to a broad spectrum of faith communities, he gets analysis on the role of religion in the election.Producers: Dan Tierney (in Atlanta) Catherine Murray Peter Everett Saba ZamanStudio managers: Amy Brennon John Cole Jack MorrisEditor: Tim Pemberton

Julie Etchingham takes a look at the religious and ethical issues issues of the week.

Suspected victims of modern slavery are waiting years before their cases are dealt with, whilst waiting for a Home Office decision. On Friday, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Philips announced that the Home Office will hire 200 staff to clear a backlog of UK modern slavery cases. Sunday hears from Major Kathy Betteridge the Director of Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery for The Salvation Army. Adventurer, writer and TV presenter Alison Morrison speaks about the discovery of a secret tomb underneath the Treasury Monument at the World Heritage site of Petra in Jordan, where more than a million people visit annually. The tomb contained 12 ancient skeletons and various artefacts dating back to the Nabataean people around two thousand years ago. A team including researchers from the University of St Andrews made the discovery using remote sensing equipment, while on a separate study looking at how to control flood waters at the site. Alison speaks about the significance of the discovery.The Archbishop of Toulouse- Monsignor Guy de Kerimel- called a mass to clean the city and protect it from dark forces within. He’s taken a public stand against a street art parade planned through the city at the end of month. Three massive metal minotaur's, guided remotely by dozens of technicians, will amble through the city over a three day period. It’s the presence of one Lilith that has infuriated some of the Catholic community. Half woman half scorpion in mythology she was Adam’s first wife and associated with evil and luring the weak into obscurity.Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Peter Everett Studio Mangers: Chris Hardman & Helen Williams Editor: Tim Pemberton

Edward Stourton is in the chair with a debate on what to do with empty churches, as the Church of England blocks plans to allow one in Stoke-on-Trent to become a mosque. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom - an organ of the Federal government based in Washington - has published a report on the Chinese government's efforts to control the country's religions including reports of crosses and images of Jesus and Mary being taken down in churches and replaced with pictures of the Chinese President Xi Jinping.Bond Director Lee Tamahori famous for 'Die Another Day' tells us about his latest blockbuster starring Guy Pearce. 'The Convert' is a film about a missionary and his misgivings about converting Maori tribes to Christianity in 1800's New Zealand.Fr Timothy Radcliffe talks about his surprise at being appointed a Cardinal, his journey to becoming an esteemed preacher and his thoughts on the regalia that comes with being a 'red hat'. Sunday hears from George Antone, one of the last Christians of Gaza who has been in touch with the programme for the past year as he and hundreds of Catholics seek refuge in the Holy Family Church in Northern Gaza. As military action intensifies in the region, George tells us about his fears for the future.

As Hezbollah confirms the death of its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on Beirut, hear about the religion and politics behind Hezbollah from Fawaz Gerges - Professor of International Relations and Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the LSE. And William talks to Myriam Shwayri from the Al-Khafat Foundation about efforts to evacuate disabled adults and children from areas affected by explosions in the city.Abortion clinic 'buffer zones' have come into force in Scotland with similar areas on the way for England and Wales by the end of October. William talks to two women on either side of the debate.'He was ebullient, generous-hearted, kind to many, and an inspirational figure. But alongside that, hiding in plain sight, was someone who manipulated and controlled others, bullied and sought to abuse his power.' That is how Mike Pilavachi, the disgraced Anglican priest and former leader of the Soul Survivor church and festivals, is described in the latest report into the scandal. We hear from Richard Scorer, head of abuse law at Slater and Gordon solicitors, about the ‘Independent Review into Soul Survivor’ led by Fiona Scolding KC.Sikh sacred music, also known as Kirtan, has officially become part of the musical examination system in the UK. This has all been pioneered by Harjinder Singh, a music teacher from Birmingham who set up an academy to teach young people how to play traditional stringed Indian instruments. PRESENTER: WILLIAM CRAWLEY PRODUCERS: CATHERINE MURRAY & KATY DAVIS STUDIO MANAGERS: KELLY YOUNG & SIMON HIGHFIELD EDITOR: CHLOE WALKER

Four senior Church of England bishops have accused Israel of acting above the law in the West Bank. In a letter sent to The Observer newspaper, they have called on the UN to move beyond strongly worded resolutions and they say there is little distinction between state and settlor violence. The bishops say the letter has been prompted by the forceful dispossession of a Christian family from their ancestral land outside Bethlehem. Emily Buchanan speaks to one of the signatories, Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun. Our correspondent Hugo Bachega gives us the latest about the situation in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has confirmed that two senior commanders were killed in a strike on the capital Beirut on Friday. Since then Israel has claimed to have hit hundreds of Hezbollah rocket launchers while Hezbollah in turn has fired rockets into Israel's northern region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the earlier pager and walkie-talkie explosions which killed 39 people and wounded 3000 violated international humanitarian law. A new documentary investigates abuse and death at an Indian residential school in Canada run by the Catholic Church between 1891 to 1981. As production of the film developed, Julian Brave NoiseCat’s (one of the Directors), own story became an integral part of the film. Emily Buchanan speaks to Julian and his co-director Emily Kassie. Presenter: Emily Buchanan Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Alexa Good Studio Managers: Amy Brennan & Mitchell Goodall Editor: Tim Pemberton

The French Catholic Church has said it will open its files on Abbé Pierre, the priest regarded as something like a modern saint until allegations of sexual harrassment and assault were made against him. The Abbé, who died in 2007, was revered for his pioneering work in setting up Emmaus International which cared for homeless and poor people. Edward speaks to the Paris-based writer Andrew Hussey about reaction to the story in France, and Pat Jones, author of a recent report on the Catholic Church culture and clerical abuse.The Jewish campaign group Nahamu has produced a damning paper on the quality of education in some schools run by the ultra-orthodox Charedi community. Edward talks to its founder Yehudis Fletcher.The Quakers are celebrating 400 years since the birth of their co-founder George Fox. Edward visits his modest memorial in Bunhill Fields in East London and finds out about the other famous non-conformists buried in this part of the city.PRESENTER : Edward Stourton PRODUCERS: Dan Tierney and Catherine Murray STUDIO MANAGERS: Jack Morris and Kelly Young EDITOR: Chloe Walker

Pupils in England start the new term this week, but will schools ensure that tensions from the riots don't make it into the classroom? We hear from one pupil who was worried about leaving her house after violence erupted on her street in Liverpool and from a headteacher making his school a safe place to talk about anxiety, misinformation and racism. Hear from the Hijabi sex educators helping Muslim women have honest conversations about their bodies and intimacy.As fans scramble for tickets for the reunion, broadcaster Terry Christian talks about the Irish Catholic background that formed Oasis. China and the Vatican get ready to re-sign the controversial and secret agreement that attempts to bring together two versions of the Chinese Church: one underground loyal to Rome and the other state sanctioned and overseen by the Communist state. Is it a betrayal of Chinese Catholics as some critics have said? The Pulitzer prize winning author Marilynne Robinson tells William about the enduring literary and cultural value of the Book of Genesis and why she chose it as the subject for her latest work.

The word ‘church’ was not used to describe hundreds of new Church of England congregations, initiatives and community groups set up over the last decade. Research by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research, at Cranmer Hall, Durham, found that in the past ten years, around 900 so-called “new things” have been started in 11 dioceses. But none of the dioceses used the term “church” as its main description of those ‘things’. Rev Canon Professor Alison Milbank, theologian and author of The Once and Future Parish (2023), and Rev Canon Dave Male, the Church of England’s co-director for vision and strategy, discuss if this is simply about the choice of language or something deeper? In light of the government's emergency measures put in place in prisons, we’re joined by the lead bishop for prisons, the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, and David Spencer, Head of Crime and Justice at Policy Exchange, to explore the sentencing of young people and whether custodial sentences are helpful in the long term.Following Kamala Harris’ acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president, we speak to theologian Brad Onishi, Professor of Religion at The University of San Francisco and co-host of the ‘Straight White American Jesus’ podcast, to get his view on how the two candidates appeal to the US religious electorate. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Alexa Good, Bara’atu Ibrahim and Katy Davis Studio Managers: Simon Highfield and Jack Morris Editor: Tim Pemberton