BHA: New Channel 4 religious slot “may turn non-religious viewers away from the Channel”

A new slot religious on Channel 4 is an unnecessary promotion of religion, and may turn non-religious viewers away from the channel, the British Humanist Association (BHA) has claimed today. Channel 4 has announced the launch of a new programme called 4Thought to begin in July and shown after the Channel 4 news. It has been compared in the media to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.

Naomi Phillips, BHA Head of Public Affairs, commented, ‘We already have hundreds of hours of time across the main broadcasting channels dedicated to religion, with nothing comparable for non-religious people in the population, including not a single programme for humanists ever broadcast by the BBC. Another prime-time slot dedicated to religion is unnecessary. It may even be as unpopular with non-religious viewers as Thought for the Day, which actively excludes non-religious contributors, and about which thousands of our own supporters have complained and many more just switch off when it is aired. If Channel 4 really want this slot to be “diverse”, they must reflect the fact that a large and growing proportion of the population is non-religious, in addition to including voices of minority religions and beliefs in the country.’

Ms Phillips continued, ‘Channel 4 has historically been more inclusive of non-religious viewpoints and those critical of religion than, for example, the BBC. We will be writing to Channel 4 Chief Executive, David Abraham, with our concerns about this new slot, and for confirmation that they intend to broadcast programmes by and for non-religious people.’

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For further comment or information, contact Naomi on naomi@humanism.org.uk or 07540 257101.

For more information about our work on broadcasting, the BBC and Thought for the Day, visit http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/broadcasting.

The 2010 British Social Attitudes survey found 43% of people are happy to self-describe as non-religious, with other surveys finding up to 63% (Guardian/ICM 2006) of people saying they are not religious. For more figures and statistics on belief and attitudes in the UK, see http://www.humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-belief-surveys-statistics.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious, campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief.