Premier Christian Newscast

Breakaway Anglicans find their feet

28 Nov 2022
29:32

Earlier in the autumn the Anglican Network in Europe consecrated three new bishops. This small group of about 35 churches, all Anglican but not part of the official Church of England, is busily growing and expanding, in part as it expects more conser...

Child abuse in church: What next after IICSA?

21 Nov 2022
37:02

Last month, seven long years after it began, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, or IICSA, concluded by publishing its final report. Established in 2014 in response to fears of a Jimmy Savile-style abuse scandal lurking among high-level...

A holy war? The Russian Orthodox Church and the conflict in Ukraine

14 Nov 2022
32:42

Patriarch Kirill, the controversial head of the Russian Orthodox Church, declared last month that Russian soldiers conscripted into battle in Ukraine who died would have their sins washed away automatically. Despite the mounting evidence of war crime...

A Hindu in Downing Street

7 Nov 2022
30:59

When Rishi Sunak became prime minister last month, much was made of his groundbreaking ascent to Number 10. But as well as being the first ethnic minority politician to win the premiership, Sunak is also the first Hindu. Indeed, he’s the first non-Ch...

Slavery, reparations and the church

24 Oct 2022
29:02

Today we’re considering the painful question of how the church should reckon with its historic links to slavery. Every year, the entanglement of churches with the slave trade in the past is becoming clearer and clearer. Some Christians owned slaves,...

Who are the non-religious in Britain?

17 Oct 2022
30:34

New research by the think tank Theos has offered a fascinating insight into those in the UK who say they are non-religious. It turns out this group is a complex mix of hardline atheists, apathetic agnostics, and ‘spiritual but not religious’ types. T...

Mpho Tutu Van Furth and gay marriage in the church

10 Oct 2022
39:56

This week we’re exploring yet another bitter controversy in the church’s ongoing wrangling over gay marriage. The daughter of the iconic anti-apartheid leader and South African archbishop Desmond Tutu was refused permission by the Church of England t...

The faith of the Queen: A life remembered

3 Oct 2022
53:35

Today’s episode is a little different to normal because we’re going to be handing over the show to a wide range of Christians – church leaders, ministers, worship leaders, bishops and others – to share their own personal reflections on Queen Elizabet...

Young people and prayer

26 Sep 2022
32:20

This week we’re digging into a fascinating new survey which suggests younger generations might be more open to faith than their parents. The poll was published last month and found 56% of those aged 18-34 had prayed in their lives. This was much high...

The faith of King Charles

19 Sep 2022
33:01

Today, Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest at a funeral attended by hundreds of international leaders and watched by millions around the world. Soon, our focus will inevitably shift from mourning the Queen to scrutinising her son, and our new Kin...

The return of the Christian conference

5 Sep 2022
33:23

When the first covid lockdown hit, back in the spring of 2020, it was a devastating blow for big Christian events. With everyone legally mandated to stay at home, everything from Word Alive to Big Church Day Out to Focus was forced to cancel their ga...

Putting the genie back into the bottle: Pope Francis and reform in the Catholic Church

29 Aug 2022
36:33

This week we’re diving into the world of the Catholic Church’s ambitious reform programme. Pope Francis launched a drive to overhaul the church last year, urging Catholic leaders in each country to hold synods which would consult ordinary, lay believ...

Inside the government’s religious freedom conference

22 Aug 2022
26:06

In amongst the comings and goings of Westminster over the last few weeks, there might have been one event that slipped your attention. The International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief saw religious leaders flock to central Lo...

The tragedy of Archie Battersbee

15 Aug 2022
31:02

Twelve-year-old Archie Battersbee was found unresponsive and severely brain damaged at his home in April. He never regained consciousness and had to be put on ventilation to be kept alive in hospital. For several months he was the subject of a legal...

Christianity and boxing: Fighting with faith

8 Aug 2022
20:47

Christians are no strangers to the world of boxing. In fact there is a disproportionate number of believers competing compared to other sports. Not an event goes by without someone having a Bible verse written on their shorts or someone giving glory...