Bishops call for Radio 1 to offer more religious output

The BBC has been urged to make religion part of the Radio 1 remit in a submission by Catholic and Anglican church leaders.

In a response to the BBC Trust, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, and John Arnold, the Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, said they wanted religion to be included in the future remit for Radio 1 in the same way as Radios 2, 3 and 4.

They said: "Religion figures strongly in the output of Radio 2, 3, and 4 under the proposed licences for individual BBC services, but it does not appear under Radio 1." The remarks are included in the churches' response to the BBC Trust consultation on service licences and purpose remits.

The bishops argue that the exclusion of religion from Radio 1 is "illogical and inconsistent".

They claim that Radio 1's young target audience has a "thirst for spiritual input" that is greater than in older age-groups. "Unless religion is appropriately included in the Radio 1 licence, audience needs may not be met," they said.

A Church of England spokesman said religion played a "major part" in the lives of young people and needed to be included in the Radio 1 output. He said: "There seems to be a sort of closed door. What there needs to be is a sense that these are not questions that are off-limits, these are questions that can be addressed." He added that the churches were not seeking to include religious items which would not suit the style and output of Radio 1.

"Certainly, no one is saying that that Radio 1 should be saying 'let's all stop now' and have a religious service or something that does not fit in with the tone and the pace of Radio 1 output," the spokesman said. "But certainly there are places in Radio 1 output where it would be possible to reflect people's spiritual needs, desires and concerns."