Goodbye Songs of Praise? We need religious programming now more than ever

As parliament debates the Media Bill, which could remove the requirement for public service broadcasters to include religious programming, Katie Edwards explains why the UK must do all it can to preserve religious education and tolerance

Religion isn’t irrelevant and undeserving of media interest just because more people in England are turning away from organised forms of religion (Getty/iStock)

I’ll always think of Songs of Praise as the soundtrack to my hangovers. In my late teens and early twenties, I’d start the sensitive task of unsealing my puffy eyelids to a background of old white people singing hymns.

Somehow it was both tedious, mildly irritating and reassuring: a broadcasting equivalent of the old swing ball set at the back of the garage. It probably wasn’t that great to start with, but now nostalgia makes the idea of dispensing with it impossible, even though you haven’t set eyes on it for decades.

I’m sure I’m doing a disservice to the stalwart products of religious broadcasting but even the term “religious broadcasting” feels like a trigger to an eye roll. A Pavlovian response. The term “religious programming” makes me think of boring, old fashioned, Anglican devotional content with overly sincere former child stars and day-time telly presenters introducing yet another inspirational story of knowing or finding Jesus.