Sunday Folgen

Emily Buchanan hears from John Ponitfex from the charity Aid to the Church in Need. He's just returned from Nineveh Plains where he says thousands of Christians to are returning home now that Daesh have been forced out of the area. What is the future they are facing? What impact has the recent Referendum on Kurdish independence had on them?The Tohono O'odham are a federally recognised American Indian Nation in South Western Arizona. The word Tohono O'odham means 'desert people.' Prior to the mid 19th century their lands stretched right across the Sonoran desert into Mexico. Since then, a 62 mile border has divided the community in two, but this border has been semi-permeable with tribal members continuing to travel to their ancestral lands. President Trump's plan for a fortified wall threatens that. Penny Boreham reports.The leaders of the Provinces within the Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury on Monday. Three of them will stay away because they believe they can no longer remain in fellowship with the Anglican church in USA and the Scottish Episcopal church who have approved gay marriage, and with Canada which looks set to do so. Sanctions against the SEC are likely to be announced on Tuesday. The BBC's Religious correspondent Martin Bashir is following the conference.Helen Grady reports from Italy where Muslims are struggling to find places to pray together, and Trevor Barnes reports on the impact of the Balfour Declaration on religious communities in the Middle East. Producers Rosie Dawson and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Series Producer: Amanda HancoxPhotograph by Phia Saban.

An estimated 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016, according to new global statistics. David Westlake, CEO of International Justice Mission UK explains the aims of this weekend's 'Freedom Sunday' church campaign.A mum has accused a school of religious discrimination after teachers ordered her son to cut his dreadlocks. Theologian, Prof Robert Beckford, explores the significance of hair for the Rastafari faith, to which the family belongs. Shadow Schools Minister Mike Kane will be launching 'Catholics for Labour' at the Labour Party conference in Brighton. He reveals his hopes for the new group. Yollande Knell reports on how minority groups in Iraq - in particular, followers of the ancient Yazidi faith - have been leading the calls for an international investigation into crimes committed by so-called Islamic State.A senior Anglican academic is calling on the Church of England not to appoint any 'traditionalists' - those opposed to women priests - as bishops, until a third of all bishops are women. Edward Stourton puts Very Rev Prof Martyn Percy's comments to the prominent Anglo-Catholic Bishop of Wakefield, Rt Rev Tony Robison.A Sikh organisation has successfully lobbied for their holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, to be returned from a magistrates court in Cardiff, arguing that the court was not equipped to handle the scriptures appropriately. Dr Jasjit Singh, an expert on Sikh affairs, explains the issues. Willesden Cemetery in North West London, nicknamed the "Rolls-Royce of Jewish cemeteries", has just been given a Grade II listing status. Trevor Barnes has been to visit it.Producers: Dan Tierney and Carmel Lonergan Series Producer: Amanda Hancox Photo: Jewan Abdi.

New research suggests that a quarter of England's secondary schools are not offering Religious Education, despite the fact that it is a legal obligation to do so. Alex Strangways-Booth reports.This week, Israel's Supreme Court decided that ultra-Orthodox Jews are no longer exempt from military service. Edward explores the importance of this decision.Bob Walker has been to meet monks from Tibet currently touring the UK.It has been reported this week that 80% of calls to the police are not crime related. They are often from people with problems who simply have nowhere else to turn. Police Forces have been paying charities to run programmes to help these callers. Edward talks to Mike Royal, Church Engagement Team Leader at the Cinnamon Network, which runs projects funded by the Police.Fergus Butler-Gallie, a Church of England ordinand, has put together a 'Glossary of commonly-misunderstood words from the Book of Common Prayer'. He'll be shedding light on the meaning of words from the 16th century that are still spoken in churches today.Professor Ronald Hutton talks to William Crawley about his latest book on witches.Over 100 MPs have signed a letter to The National Statistics Authority calling for British Sikhs to be classified as an ethnic group on the next census form. Jas Singh, from the Sikh Network, is in favour but journalist Sunny Hundal, who writes on issues affecting the Sikh community, does not agree.In 2014, the Taliban attacked a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, and killed 150 children and staff. Anwar Nawaz was 14 at the time and survived by playing dead. He talks to Edward about that day and why he is encouraging British children make the most of their education. Producers: Helen Lee Rajeev GuptaEditor: Amanda Hancox.