Letter: Support for religious thought

Sir: I do not agree with Andrew Brown concerning Thought for the Day (Faith & Reason, 11 May). I have, like many others, always found the programme interesting and highly topical. There is a limit to what can be said in three minutes but contributors like Rabbi Lionel Blue have found it possible to fill the slot with distinction over a lengthy period.

We are entitled to be told why the BBC treated senior religious leaders like "third rate actors who have outlived their sell-by date" - to quote the Bishop of Oxford's spokesman.

In a society increasingly facing a moral decline there is a need for greater emphasis on religious values rather than the reverse. Indignant voices have been raised opposing the BBC decision. They should be listened to carefully. The action proposed should not be embarked upon lightly and certainly not unilaterally and precipitately.

Sir Sigmund Sternberg

The Sternberg Centre

for Judaism

London N3