Sunday, April 08, 2012

It's Easter and it seems the BBC has gone into overdrive promoting the religion agenda. Yesterday's Newsround reported the views of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, and today we were given chances to see both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

There was a short clip from Rowan Williams' Easter sermon on the 1.55pm bulletin -

Rowan Williams: Younger people, while still statistically deeply unlikely to be churchgoers, don't have the hostility to faith that one might expect.

Perhaps if Newsround didn't keep giving religion such a high profile, kids might better appreciate that it's not always a good thing. For example, bearing in mind the hateful way Cardinal Keith O'Brien talked about marriage equality and gay people, was it reasonable for Newsround to quote him yesterday?

I suggest that all BBC editorial staff think about the harm that can be done by unquestioning acceptance of religious bigotry. A 2009 film called 'Prayers for Bobby' is a stark reminder of what can happen. It is based on the true story of Bobby Griffith.

Clip from Prayers for Bobby
Ryan Kelley & Sigourney Weaver in 'Prayers for Bobby'

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