Archive by Genre: Religion

1. Abelard and Heloise

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the medieval tale of Abelard and Heloise.
2. al-Biruni

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Central Asian scientist and historian al-Biruni.
3. Angels

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the heavenly host of Angels.
4. Blood

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss blood, from medical progress to the link to the divine.
5. Calvinism

   Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas of John Calvin and their impact.
6. Catharism

   Melvyn Bragg examines the Cathars, a medieval European Christian sect accused of heresy.
7. Dante's Inferno

   Melvyn Bragg examines Dante’s ‘Inferno’, a medieval journey through Hell’s nine circles
8. Daoism

   Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daoism, the ancient Chinese philosophy and religion.
9. Erasmus

   Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus.
10. Fairies

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 5000 year cultural history of fairies.
11. Foxe's Book of Martyrs

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Foxe's Book of Martyrs.
12. Fundamentalism

    Melvyn Bragg examines the roots and the consequences of religious fundamentalism.
13. George Fox and the Quakers

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the origins of Quakerism.
14. Good and Evil

    Melvyn Bragg examines how we judge good and evil in modern western civilisation.
15. Greyfriars and Blackfriars

    Melvyn Bragg looks at the religious orders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans.
16. Heaven

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ideas of heaven and the afterlife.
17. Hell

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Hell and its representation in the arts.
18. Humanism

    The history and legacy of classical Humanism, invented by Cicero.
19. Judas Maccabeus

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the revolutionary Jewish leader Judas Maccabeus.
20. Literature

    How the written word, originally used for accountancy, gave rise to human literature.
21. Marriage

    The history of marriage from ancient Greek and Babylonian times to today.
22. Miracles

    Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history of miracles.
23. Muslim Spain

    Melvyn Bragg examines Muslim Spain, from Cordoba’s golden age to the fall of Granada.
24. Ockham's Razor

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the ideas of William Ockham including Ockham's Razor.
25. Paganism in the Renaissance

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the return of classical pagan thought in the Renaissance.
26. Prayer

    Melvyn Bragg examines the purpose and effects of prayer.
27. Redemption

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss redemption, crucial for Judeo-Christian thought.
28. Shinto

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Japanese belief system of Shinto.
29. Space in Religion and Science

    Melvyn Bragg looks at how cyberspace has introduced a new concept of space in our world.
30. Spinoza

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the Dutch, Jewish and Christian Philosopher, Baruch Spinoza.
31. St Bartholomew's Day Massacre

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the infamous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.
32. St Hilda

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the 7th century abbess, St Hilda.
33. St Paul

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the influence of St Paul on the early Christian church.
34. St Thomas Aquinas

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss St Thomas Aquinas.
35. Sunni and Shia Islam

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins of the split between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims
36. The Age of Doubt

    Melvyn Bragg examines the spread of religious doubt over the last three centuries.
37. The Apocalypse

    Melvyn Bragg examines how a powerful narrative of judgement and retribution evolved.
38. The Arab Conquests

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Arab conquests which helped communicate Islam to the world.
39. The Baroque Movement

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the culture of the Baroque.
40. The Bhagavad Gita

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Bhagavad Gita, a key text of Hinduism.
41. The Buddha

    The life of Siddhartha Gautama and the legacy of his teachings.
42. The Concordat of Worms

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Concordat of Worms of 1122.
43. The Delphic Oracle

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Delphic Oracle.
44. The Devil

    Melvyn Bragg examines how the Devil became an established figure in Christianity.
45. The Diet of Worms

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events that helped trigger the European Reformation.
46. The Dissolution of the Monasteries

    Melvyn Bragg examines Henry VIII's policy of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
47. The Fall

    Melvyn Bragg examines the concept of original sin and its influence in Christian Europe.
48. The Fisher King

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the enigmatic myth of the Fisher King.
49. The Greek Myths

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek myths from Achilles to Zeus.
50. The Holy Grail

    Melvyn Bragg examines why the Holy Grail legend has fascinated writers for centuries.
51. The Jesuits

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the Jesuits, “the school masters of Europe”.
52. The Lindisfarne Gospels

    Melvyn Bragg examines the manuscripts that united Celtic and Roman cultures in England.
53. The Metaphysical Poets

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Metaphysical poets, including John Donne and Andrew Marvell.
54. The Nicene Creed

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the Nicene Creed which established the Divinity of Christ.
55. The Norse Gods

    Melvyn Bragg examines the myths and theology that inspired the Vikings.
56. The Oxford Movement

    Melvyn Bragg examines the 19th century Catholic movement within the Church of England.
57. The Pelagian Controversy

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the church's most significant doctrinal disputes.
58. The Pilgrim Fathers

    Melvyn Bragg discusses what the Pilgrim Fathers and the Mayflower mean to Americans.
59. The Safavid Dynasty

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Safavid Dynasty of early modern Iran.
60. The Schism

    Melvyn Bragg examines events surrounding the medieval division of the Christian Church.
61. The Siege of Munster

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Siege of Munster in 1534-35.
62. The Siege of Vienna

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 1683 siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Army.
63. The Soul

    The history of thought on immortality, the self and the afterlife.
64. The Spanish Inquisition

    Melvyn Bragg examines the Spanish Inquisition, defenders of medieval orthodoxy.
65. The Venerable Bede

    The life and work of the Venerable Bede who revolutionised Christian scholarship.
66. Third Crusade

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the highs and lows of the Third Crusade.
67. Toleration

    Melvyn Bragg looks at the politics behind the rise of religious freedom in England.
68. William James's 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.
69. Witchcraft

    The history of witchcraft in Reformation Europe.
70. Wyclif and the Lollards

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss John Wyclif and the Lollards.
71. Yeats and Mysticism

    Melvyn Bragg explores the strange and mystical world of the Irish poet W B Yeats.
72. Zoroastrianism

    The history of Zoroastrianism, claimed to be the first monotheistic religion.

Showing all (72) "Religion" programmes.

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