Every weekday morning at 07:50, BBC Radio 4 broadcasts a short slot called “Thought for the day”.
You might expect it to be just that – a thought for the day for you to ponder on, for everyone by everyone. But no. The speakers, in their 3 minute monologue, provide us all with their words and thoughts on an idea, an occurrence, or even a current affairs event, and these speakers, broadcasting to all who are listening even though they themselves are not from a broad spectrum of humankind, they’re only ever “speakers from across the world’s major faiths” who “offer a spiritual insight”.
Where are the thoughts from the minor faiths?
Where are the thoughts from people of no faith?
By only having speakers from “major faiths” BBC Radio 4 is suggesting that insights, indeed spiritual insights, only come from those who believe in one of the main religions. That is not true. And besides, punctuating what could be a valuable insight with mentions of “God” and “Jesus” can often put people off if they’re looking for an agnostic spiritual experience. You may say something deeply profound but as soon as you try to link it to one specific religion, that’s a complete turnoff.
And I write this as the same channel reports that a law is passed in Louisiana that all classrooms must display the ten commandments!
Make thought for the day more inclusive.
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