Heart and Soul

In the heyday of the Sikh Empire, Kirtan - Sikh hymns - were performed using stringed instruments such as the sarangi, rabab and taus. The rich, complex tones these instruments create are said to evoke a deeper connection to Waheguru (God). But in the late 19th Century, these traditional instruments were replaced by European imports like the harmonium. Now a new generation of diaspora Sikhs is painstakingly rebuilding that musical heritage - restoring scores and gathering to teach and learn traditional instruments. In 2022, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority for Sikhs, signalled a revival of stringed instruments in the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine. But can they attract and train enough musicians to put strings back at the heart of Sikh worship? Monika Plaha meets one these musical pioneers, Harjinder Singh Lallie, and finds out how his beliefs fuel his work and how his music shapes his faith. Producer: Rachel Briggs and Ajai Singh Presenter: Monika Plaha Editor: Helen Grady Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Come with us! Heart and Soul is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don't forget to subscribe or follow.

Mexico has become the most dangerous country in the world to be a Catholic priest. In the past 15 years, 50 were killed in narco-related violence. And the young men who enter the priesthood in the region of western Mexico known as Tierra Caliente, meaning "hot land", are at particular risk. They will have to work in drug cartel-controlled communities, may have gang leaders or members in their congregations and will struggle with the ethical and theological dilemmas of publicly condemning these men's actions at the risk of being murdered for speaking out. Even baptisms or delivering communion or receiving donations can prove extremely threatening: to refuse them any of the most sacred rituals of the Church is to defy the cartels. And few live to tell the tale having refused to bend to the cartels' demands. The BBC's Mexico Correspondent, Will Grant travels to Tierra Caliente to meet a group of seminarians. In recent years, their director was attacked and almost killed. Members of a drug cartel entered their seminary, dragged off one of their colleagues and murdered him in the surrounding countryside. And the grave to one of their instructors is nestled by the chapel. All reminders, if any were needed, that these young men are about to join the world's most dangerous priesthood. How are they prepared? Do they appreciate just what they are letting themselves in for? And how will they tackle the thorny ethical and spiritual questions which lie ahead as priests? Come with us! Heart and Soul is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don't forget to subscribe or follow.

Gwen was brought up as a strict evangelical Christian. She was taught that women needed to control the way they dressed and acted to control the behaviour of men. When she was sexually abused, she believed it was her fault. But when she first stepped into a nudist community, she felt free. She was naked, with other naked people, and her nakedness was not making other people molest her. She learnt that her body was not something she had to hide. The BBC's Josie Le Vay visits Gwen at her home in a nudist community in Florida, USA, as she reconciles with the harm purity culture has caused herself, and those she taught it to. We meet Gwen's neighbour, Michael, a retired chaplain and pastor, who runs nude bible reading sessions from his home and attends the nearby Garden of Eden church, which celebrates the ‘joy and innocence of Christian naturism'. And we hear how those who practise many of the evangelical teachings Gwen grew up with respond to her new nudist lifestyle; and her Christian friends who believe the Bible justifies their way of life. Producer: Michael Gallagher Presenter: Josie Le Vay Editor: Helen Grady Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Come with us! Heart and Soul is moving and we would love it if you can join us. You can now find all our episodes on The Documentary, the home of original, global storytelling, from the BBC World Service. Search for The Documentary, wherever you found this podcast, and don't forget to subscribe or follow.

It took Salimata Sylla three hours to get to the away fixture she was due to play with her basketball team mates from the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers. But it was only a few minutes before the match started that she learned she was going to sit the game out on the bench. Despite playing for more than 10 years in the French Championship, the federation that controls her sport decided to apply the rule that forbids female basketball players from wearing the hijab. Her coach describes her as the backbone of the team and an ambassador for the sport. She has been a face of basketball for many big brands on social media. And the hijab she wears is sold by mainstream sportswear manufacturers. Salimata's ban is the latest in country where the right to wear a hijab has long divided opinion. But in her case, it raises an interesting dilemma for France. While domestic sporting federations enforce their ban on the hijab, their international counterparts have no such ban in place. So what will happen, Salimata wonders, when the Olympics come to Paris next year? Reporter Claire Jones goes to Paris to meet Salimata to find out how she can resolve her wish to express her Muslim faith by wearing a hijab with her desire to play the sport she loves. Presenter: Claire Jones Producer: Helen Lee and Rob Cave Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

The organ has always been a vehicle for truly cosmic ideas - for atheists and believers alike. Acclaimed Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna explores the idea that the instrument is simply a vehicle for Christian worship digging deeper into how the organ conveys ideas of the infinite and the microscopic, the existential and the personal, of celebration, grief and joy. Presenter: Iveta Apkalna Producer: Steven Rajam An Overcoat Media production for BBC World Service (Photo: Pipe organ by Nikolaus Moll in the Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James in Innsbruck, Austria. Credit: Getty Images)

When we think of division in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict normally comes straight to mind. But there's a new and dangerous tension in Israel – between its own Jewish people. The country now has its most right-wing government for decades, with controversial figures who've advocated violence and divisive policies. There's also a plan to change the judicial system to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a small number of government figures vast control. Its critics say Israel is in danger of becoming a ‘democratic dictatorship'. This political shift is now pitting ordinary Israeli Jews against each other. The ultra-orthodox Haredim and their conservative supporters are at odds with more liberal elements of society. Former Defence Minister Benny Gantz – a powerful figure in the former government – has even raised the spectre of a civil war in Israel, telling the new politicians that they'll be responsible if a new conflict breaks out. As efforts are made to maintain peace and hold the country together, the BBC's Middle East Correspondent Yolande Knell meets two rabbis who are odds with one another in the heart of Jerusalem. Surrounded by the religious iconography that should symbolise the links between them, she explores why the two ends of the spectrum now find themselves so far apart. And she tries to persuade them to come together over a meal to find out if there's any way to bridge the gaping political and theological differences in their thinking. But will they be willing to meet? Presenter: Yolande Knell Producer: Rajeev Gupta Editor: Helen Grady Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

Almost 10 years ago, Peter MacJob's life changed forever. Born and raised a devout Christian like so many of his fellow Nigerians, he fell out of love with the Church and discovered the traditional Yoruba religion of his ancestors. Other Africans appear to be doing the same thing, both on the continent and throughout the diaspora. But as Peter has found, it is not always easy to convert: Ifá, or Isese, involves effigies, divination, and making offerings to a range of deities, up to and including animal sacrifice. Those not initiated into the faith often see it as superstitious and even sinister. Devotees say that outsiders misunderstand, and complain that Ifá is pejoratively depicted as devil worship. It is perhaps little wonder that after Peter adopted Ifá, he chose not to tell his family about it. But now he has decided it is time to come clean, taking a trip back to Nigeria to confront childhood friends and loved ones, in the hope that they will give their blessing. Presenter: Peter MacJob Producer: Michael Gallagher Strand producer: Rajeev Gupta Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Editor: Helen Grady

Aged four, Mary was playing in her parents' front yard, when she was grabbed by “the government people” and taken to a Catholic boarding school to be turned into a Christian. She's just one of thousands of Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and put into boarding schools from the 1800s right up to the 1970s. According to a US government report, the purpose of these schools was to strip indigenous people of their spiritual beliefs, culture and land. A government investigation also found that physical, emotional and sexual abuse was “rampant”. Indigenous Americans' spiritual beliefs are now experiencing a renaissance, but is this revival enough to enable Mary and her friends heal from a childhood of trauma in America's residential schools? Presenter: Leana Hosea Producer: Leana Hosea with Rajeev Gupta Production co-ordinator: Nancy Bennie Editor: Helen Grady

When Mubarak Bala posts criticism of Islam on social media, it sparks a landmark legal case and leaves him facing 24 years in jail. Raised in a Muslim family, Mubarak is the son of an Islamic scholar in the religiously conservative Kano state. But in 2014, Mubarak renounces Islam and later becomes President of Nigeria's Humanist Association, gaining a reputation as an outspoken critic of religion. In 2020, a group of Muslim lawyers call for him to be tried for offences related to blasphemy over social media posts which they say insult the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. With access to Mubarak's wife and lawyers, the BBC's Yemisi Adegoke follows his case through the Nigerian court system, finding out what it tells us about freedom of belief in a country where religious tensions run deep. She talks to other Nigerian atheists as they follow Mubarak's case and wrestle with the challenges of being open about their beliefs in a deeply religious society. Presenter: Yemisi Adegoke Producers: Valeria Cardi and John Offord Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Editor: Helen Grady (Photo: Mubarak Bala speaking at Kaduna Book and Arts Festival in 2018, still from the film The Cost of Being an Atheist)

In July 2000 Floyd Bledsoe was convicted of the murder of his 14-year-old sister-in-law in the small Kansas town of Oskaloosa. His older brother Tom had originally confessed to the killing, but later changed his story, accusing Floyd of the crime. A committed Christian, Floyd spent the next 15 years fighting his conviction, and wrestling with the Bible's teaching to forgive those who have done us wrong. Could he forgive Tom for what he had done? Or his parents, who had sided with one son over the other? Mike Wooldridge speaks to Floyd about his ordeal and about his struggle to do the right thing by his faith. Mike also hears from a volunteer prison chaplain who helped Floyd resolve his dilemma, and from a family friend who stuck by Floyd when others in his own church turned their backs on him. Producer: Mike Lanchin A CTVC production for the BBC World Service Archive material courtesy of the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World (Photo: ​Floyd Bledsoe, 2015. Credit: Midwest Innocence Project)

**Contains graphic details of sexual violence against women and children** As a young boy, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege witnessed his father, a Pentecostal pastor, praying for a sick child. It made him want to help people who suffer – not as a pastor, despite his own Christian faith, but as a doctor. Fast forward to 1999, and Denis Mukwege founded Panzi hospital in Bukavu, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the Rwandan border. There, over the last 20 years, he has treated tens of thousands of women with gynaecological trauma, caused by the extreme sexual violence which has become a weapon of war in this volatile part of the world. Rich in coveted mineral resources, the area is the scene of a large-scale conflict involving countless armed rebel groups. But Dr Mukwege was not just helping women; he was also speaking out against the cruelty of this conflict. This led to several attempts on his life. Fearing for his family, Denis Mukwege went into exile, but the women who saw him as their only hope launched a big campaign to persuade him to return. Mike Wooldridge talks to Denis Mukwege about his life's work and how his Christian faith has motivated him to disregard his own safety and bring new hope to women who, without his help, would be looking ahead to a life of ostracism and pain. If you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, details of help and support in the UK is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. Producer: Lore Wolfson Windemuth A CTVC production for the BBC World Service (Photo: Dr Mukwege. Credit: Alexis Huguet/Panzi Foundation)

The Ásatrú faith is Iceland's fastest growing religion. Drawing on Norse mythology, it is a pagan faith open to all. But in recent years it has been hijacked by white supremacists in other countries. We follow High Priest, Hilmar Hilmarsson, as he attempts to tackle this critical challenge and protect his faith's true origins. When white supremacists marched through Charlottesville in 2017, Hilmar looked on from Reykjavik. It was not just their racist message that worried him. It was the fact their banners bore the symbols of his faith such as Thor's hammer. Ásatrú, according to Hilmar, emphasises respect and tolerance, reviving polytheistic traditions and the worship of gods and goddesses from Iceland's pre-Christian past. Thanks to his position and the fact he has become so well respected both inside and beyond Iceland, Hilmar has an authority recognised by the Icelandic state to conduct weddings and funerals and lead the rituals or "blots" that the group practise to mark the passing year - a 21st Century reimagining of how pre-Christian Norse people celebrated their seasons. We join him as the community gather around him and prepare for the welcoming of the winter blot. But Hilmar has also received disturbing messages and even death threats from far- right pagans in the US, Germany and Canada who do not agree with his inclusive belief system and his support for gay marriage and LGBTQ rights. We follow him as he looks forward to the opening of the group's first temple while under pressure to distance the religion from white supremacy. Producer: Sarah Cuddon A Falling Tree production for BBC World Service (Photo: High Priest Hilmar Hilmarsson. Credit: Gavin Haines)

Nepal has one of fastest growing Christian communities in the world. Helping to drive the growth are South Korean missionaries like Pang Chang-in and his wife Lee Jeong-hee. The couple's work spreading the word of Jesus is risky. Those found guilty of converting people face up to five years in jail in Nepal. The BBC's Asia editor Rebecca Henschke and Korean journalist Kevin Kim follow the couple as they open new churches and teach the next generation of Nepali Christian leaders. This is a rare insight into an organised and increasingly controversial Korean mission, spreading the Christian faith high in the Himalayans. Presented by: Rebecca Henschke Produced with: Kevin Kim, Rajan Parajuli, Rama Parajuli and Rajeev Gupta (Photo: Pang and his wife)

In this special programme to mark the death of Pope Benedict XVI, Colm Flynn explores the life story of the gentle German academic who became the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics all over the world. The 95-year old Pope Emeritus died at the Vatican on New Year's Eve 2022. He will perhaps be best remembered as the first Pope to retire in 600 years. But his life and legacy is much more complicated and varied, with a papacy filled with both majestic spiritual moments and embarrassing and hurtful blunders. Benedict led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years but is considered by many to be one of the most influential religious leaders of modern times. Born Joseph Ratzinger in rural Bavaria, he has a deeply religious upbringing and trained for the priesthood along with his brother. Before becoming a bishop, he was a professor of theology, teaching in several universities. He embraced the spirit of change that blew through the Catholic Church in the 1960s, gaining a reputation as a progressive at the Second Vatican Council. But in later life, as head of the Catholic Church's doctrinal watchdog, he defended Catholic teaching fearlessly, even earning the nickname “God's Rottweiler”. As Pope, Benedict spoke out against what he called "the dictatorship of relativism", and produced deeply moving spiritual writings, drawing many young people to the Catholic faith. His papal visits always draw huge crowds and those who met him describe a gentle, kind and self-effacing man. His Papacy was overshadowed by the breaking scandals of decades of sexual abuse in the Church. And while Pope Benedict introduced ground-breaking reforms to tackle abuse, campaigners for survivors say he failed to deal with hundreds of cases. Presenter/producer: Colm Flynn Editor: Helen Grady Image: Pope Benedict XVI, pictured in 2020 (Credit: Leon Neal/PA)

Thich Nhat Hanh is known as the father of mindfulness. The Vietnamese monk shared Buddhist teaching with the world, and launched a global spiritual movement. But a year on from his death, Thich Nhat Hanh remains a controversial figure in his home country of Vietnam. During his lifetime, he built Plum Village monasteries and meditation centres across the globe – but he couldn't do it in his home country. His anti-war activism angered the authorities in south Vietnam, and he spent most of his life in exile. Even today, Plum Village is still not allowed to establish a formal presence in Vietnam. To find out about his life and the enduring appeal of his writings, Grace Tsoi goes to Thailand, where many of Thich Nhat Hanh's Vietnamese followers have gathered to keep his teachings alive. As social media introduces a new generation to the Zen master, will the Vietnamese government finally embrace his full legacy? Presenter: Grace Tsoi Producers: Grace Tsoi and Tran Vo Editors: Helen Grady and Giang Nguyen

Fr Leo Patalinghug is not your typical priest. In one hand he holds a cross, in the other a cooking spatula. With his own international TV show, YouTube channel and cookbooks, this apron-wearing minister is on a mission – to share his faith through food. Growing up on an island in the Philippines, where money was tight, Leo and his family sometimes struggled to put food on the table. It was after moving to the United States that they got a start in life and, from a young age, Leo was always passionate about cooking. But his other great passion in life was his Catholic faith. And when he finally made the decision to enter religious life and become a priest, he was determined to use cooking to tell people about Christ. As he puts it: “I want to change hearts and minds by going through your stomach.” Presenter Colm Flynn travels to Baltimore in the US to meet Fr Leo in his kitchen and at the food van where he and a team of volunteers feed the homeless of their hometown. He explains how he believes Jesus was a foodie, and how a good meal, made with love, can nourish our souls as well as our bodies.

Iran has seen months of protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained by the country's ‘morality police' (Gasht-e Ershad) on 16 September, three days after her arrest in Tehran. As women-led protests intensify, with calls for freedom against strict dress codes and mandatory hijab, and demands for regime change, Heart and Soul brings together three Iranian women from different walks of life. The BBC's Faranak Amidi leads the conversation which explores religion, personal faith and the struggle for independence from state-controls on religious practices. Image: An Iranian flag (Credit: Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images)

For centuries, Poland was home to millions of Jews in the heart of Europe. Decades after the horrors of the Holocaust, questions of lost identity have arisen. What is it like to be a third-generation Jew in present-day Poland? We meet Małgorzata, who was born into a Jewish family in the late 1980s. She says being a Jew in Poland today means people think you are neither truly Jewish, nor Polish. She is just one of millions of third-generation Jewish people across Central Europe attempting to make sense of an identity that cannot be changed, reversed or erased. Producer: Bartosz Panek Presenter: John Beauchamp A Free Range and Overcoat Media Co-production for BBC World Service (Photo: Małgorzata, with kind permission)

Alvaro Enciso is an artist. He arrived in the US from Colombia in the 1960s and now lives in Tucson, Arizona on the edge of the unforgiving Sonoran Desert. If you are a migrant, this is one of the deadliest places to journey across the border from Mexico into the United States. Many of those who begin that lengthy walk will not make it – thousands have died in the attempt. Alvaro Enciso feels a very human connection to those lives lost. So every Tuesday, he does something extraordinary. Together with a group of volunteers, Alvaro motors off-road through the dust and the cacti, and plants painted, wooden crosses in the precise locations where Undocumented Border Crossers have taken their last breaths. For Heart and Soul, Linda Pressly travels into the Sonoran Desert with Alvaro Enciso and his team. Producer & presenter: Linda Pressly Producer in Arizona: Tim Mansel (Photo: Alvaro Enciso with one of his crosses. Credit: Tim Mansel)

Native American Anishinaabe people have been living around the Great Lakes since time immemorial, following spiritual beliefs centred around the water. But they say their way of life is being threatened by an oil pipeline sitting on the bed of the Straits of Mackinac, a volatile waterway connecting two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Line 5 pipeline has been there for 69 years, but only came to public attention after a major oil spill in Michigan led to its discovery. The company that owns the pipeline insist it is safe. But its location is central to the Anishinaabe people's creation story, positioned as it is in the heart of North America, or Turtle Island as the Anishinaabe call it. They believe they have a sacred oath with The Creator to protect the Great Lakes, which contain a fifth of the world's fresh surface water. The BBC's Leana Hosea meets some of the tribes affected in their Michigan reservations and follows their fight to protect their faith and traditions in modern America. Photo Credit: Gerardo Reyes

Artist Annie Nicholson's life and work have been shaped by loss after her family were killed in a helicopter crash in New York City in 2011. The grief was overwhelming, but slowly she found a way to live her creative practise. During the pandemic, as people around the world were coming to terms with their own losses, Annie bought an old ice cream van and set off - serving up mint choc chip and vanilla scoops- and inviting people to talk about big uncomfortable emotions. Now she is taking the project to New York, to start new conversations over ice cream, and where she will mark the anniversary of her family's death, in this documentary about grief, but above all, survival. (Photo: Annie Nicholson standing in front of her repurposed ice cream van. Credit: Tara Darby)

Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and considered the spiritual capital of India. While also holy to Buddhists, Jains and many other sects, it is the most sacred city in Hinduism. Said to have been founded by Lord Shiva, for centuries Hindus have made the pilgrimage from all over the world to the banks of the Ganges River. For many of these pilgrims, they know this will be their last mortal journey. In Hindu tradition it is said that to die in Varanasi, one may attain Moksha – an end to the continual cycle of rebirth, and a place in paradise. These are the stories of those intimately involved in the unique culture of spirituality, death and funerals in the city. We hear from the manager of Mukti Bhawan, one of the so-called Death Hotels which host pilgrims in their final days on earth, alongside personal family accounts of those who have chosen this path and the stories of those who jobs are to cremate the roughly 100 bodies per day at the ancient Burning Ghats, before their remains enter the holy river to pass into the afterlife. (Photo: Panoramic view across the holy river Ganges on Munshi Ghat in the suburb of Godowlia. Credit: Frank Bienewald/Getty Images)

By the time Richard Turner was in his mid-30s, he'd given away nearly all of his money to a church. Everything he held dear had been stripped bare by a religious community in the UK which claimed to have his best interests at heart. It took him years to piece together how this could have happened. It was only in recovery that he was diagnosed with autism, which he believes made him more susceptible to coercive control by a group he now regards as a cult. For Heart and Soul, Richard takes us on his journey of self-discovery, sharing his faith experiences with other ‘cult survivors', including one US man with Asperger's Syndrome who has spent most of his adult life ‘cult-hopping'. How common are these extraordinary stories across the world? With very little academic research available, Richard is part of a growing movement working to understand the link between neurodivergence and cults. (Image: Group Of People Against Blurred Background. Credit: Getty Images / Emmanuel Lavigne / EyeEm)

The English city of Leicester hosts the largest Diwali celebrations outside India. More than 40,000 people gather every year to see the Diwali lights switch on in Belgrave Road. People of all faiths and none attend, but for Leicester's Hindus, the festivities are an important way of practising their faith and honouring their culture. In Hinduism, Diwali celebrates Lord Rama's victory over the demon Ravana and Hindus observe it through prayer and by lighting up their houses with clay pot lamps. Home to thousands of Hindus who migrated from India and East Africa, Leicester is often held up as a shining example of how different religious communities can live together in harmony. But in recent weeks, tensions between the city's well-established Hindu and Muslim population have erupted into street violence. Hindu temples were attacked while Muslims say right wing Hindu nationalism is seeping into the city from abroad. Some Hindus fear they won't be able to celebrate Diwali in the same way this year. So could Leicester's huge festivities be thrown off course? Rajeev Gupta goes to Leicester to find out, uncovering an intense debate among the city's Hindus about how to respond to inter-religious tensions and how best to express their faith. A new generation wants to express and defend their beliefs more confidently than the first generations who arrived in the city. Others argue that identity politics are pulling people away from true Hindu values. Rajeev finds out what scripture has to say about social cohesion and how believers are drawing on it to help restore peace to the vibrant city.

Patrick van der Vorst was a tech multi-millionaire, and had been the head auctioneer at the world famous Sotheby's auction house in London selling tens of millions of pounds worth of art including the contents of Elton John's house. Then he went through what he called ‘a seismic change' in his life. Turning his back on money, fame and success to pursue something he feels is deeper and more meaningful. "I gave up the home I live in, the bed I sleep in, the food I eat. I had to give up my dog. I had to go back to studying again!'. Originally from Belgium where he practiced law, he then moved to the UK and pursued life as an entrepreneur. It was during his time dealing with art, that he felt drawn to Christian art and he started thinking about life's bigger questions. Eventually he shocked his friends and colleagues when he announced that he would be giving up business and devoting his life to the priesthood. And so Patrick left for the simplicity of the seminary in Rome. In this Heart and Soul on the BBC World Service we'll meet Patrick in Rome to hear his story, and how he wants to start contemporary Christian art tours in Rome after he's ordained as a priest.

Christianity and Hip Hop have a long and complex relationship. From Kanye's Jesus Walks to the development of Christian Hip Hop, artists rapping about their faith has caused controversy in a genre that's known for its violent oversexualised lyrics. But who's rapping about God right now and is anyone claiming the title of Christian rapper? Swarzy Macaly, a BBC 1Xtra presenter, is a Christian who works within the mainstream music world, playing secular music. She loves it when she hears people share their faith in their music, like the pioneers of Christian Hip Hop like Lecrae and Guvna B did. But in recent years, artists beyond the Christian Hip Hop world have been releasing ‘gospel' filled music like Kanye West and Stormzy, blurring the lines between religious and secular music. Swarzy wants to know if that's having an impact on the music Christian artists make, and if they feel pressure to dilute explicit faith messages in their songs to reach a wider audience. Is the label ‘Christian rapper' too restrictive for artists who want their music to go further than the church? To find out more, Swarzy meets Still Shadey and Jo Joey, young Christian rappers making popular drill music with a religious message; Deyah and Happi who've moved beyond the ‘Christian' artist label, and Limoblaze the artist behind viral TikTok hit Jireh, to hear what it's like producing music with a Christian message, and how receptive the music industry is to the growing trend of faith filled music. Produced by Miriam Williamson for the BBC World Service (Image Credit: Chinyere Anosike)

21 year old journalism graduate, Saskia Masaun has been attending meditation, mediumship and healing classes at the Spiritualists National Union (SNU) Church in Wolverhampton UK since she was 16, alongside her spiritualist mother. In this Heart & Soul for the BBC World Service, Saskia explains how her faith, which includes connecting with the spirit world through mediums and a seven principle philosophy described as a ‘guideline for life', is helping her navigate her journey as she sets out on her career. She speaks to Spiritualist leaders and attends the medium's training college, where recruits are taught the art of communicating with the dead. She talks to Karin Huber, a full time medium in Germany, and Asha, a healer who was brought up as a Hindu in the British multicultural city where they live. From its beginnings, founded in the 1840's in the US, spiritualism has established itself in the UK through its teachings on mediumship, healing and a philosophy which centres the soul through developing self-awareness. Presented by Saskia Masaun Produced by Dylan Hayward and Nina Robinson.

The connections between beer and Christianity flow back down the centuries to the medieval monasteries where it was common practice for monks to brew their own beverages. Self-sufficiency was a core monastic principle, as indeed was the duty to offer pilgrims and visitors food and drink. The monks took the work very seriously, revolutionising brewing techniques with practices and principles that are still in use today. Geoff Bird visits Grimbergen Abbey in Belgium, where brewing took place for centuries and has recently been re-introduced to great acclaim after a gap of two hundred years - the resulting beers are now widely available internationally. Geoff also meets the pagan landlord who champions beer as the fruit of a bountiful earth - and sets out with the vicar who puts beer at the centre of his ministry, to find out why he regularly visits local pubs and bars to discuss matters of faith with customers over a pint or two of craft ale.

There are hundreds of verses in the Quran calling on Muslims to protect the environment. Islam teaches that everyone is a custodian of nature and should treat the natural environment with respect and care. Sustainability has been part of the faith from the beginning. How are ordinary Muslims around the globe responding to that call? Reporter Zubeida Malik hears about the experiences of a local imam from Indonesia trying to persuade his community to help redress the effects of climate change and she looks at how religious leaders in Zanzibar successfully persuaded fishermen to change their age-old customs. Zubeida also visits Europe's first eco-Mosque in Cambridge, England, a beacon of modern Islamic environmentalism, and eavesdrops on British Muslim schoolgirls learning to interpret their faith and the natural world. (Photo: View of the famous Cambridge Central Mosque design. Credit: Edward Crawford/Getty Images)

Vishva Samani meets young Hindus in the diaspora who believe their faith is being misunderstood and who speak out against what they say is ‘Hinduphobia'. While some academics claim the term is used to silence dissent, online hate directed towards the Hindu community has increased.

Once Afghanistan's Sikh population numbered more than 100,000 in the 1970's. Today, it's estimated around only 100 Sikhs remain, following the return to Taliban rule. The BBC's Kawoon Khamoush speaks to those who have been forced to leave in recent years. Producer: Nina Robinson

Evangelical Christian women of colour were the kingmakers in Brazil's last presidential election. In May, a corruption conviction that barred the former left wing President from running was quashed on a technicality. And the stage is now set for an epic election showdown where experts say it's women of colour who will have the deciding vote. But after four years in power, will they turn a blind eye to Jair Bolsonaro's comments that some consider misogynistic and racist? In ‘The Bible, Black women and Brazil', Lebo Diseko travels to Brazil for Heart and Soul from the BBC World Service, to find out if their vote may deliver the President his second victory.

In February 1983, a group of 42 Shia devotees left a quiet village in the Chakwal district of Pakistan and embarked on an epic journey to Karbala in Iraq. This was no ordinary pilgrimage but had been ordained by Mahdi, the last spiritual leader or Imam of Shia faith. His instructions were communicated to the faithful in miraculous messages channeled through an 18 year old woman. The caravan left in two trucks on the 1300 kilometre journey to the port city of Karachi where they were to cross the Arabian Sea for Iraq. What happened next is a story of extreme sacrifice in the name of the Shia Islamic faith and would result in the deaths of 18 men, women and children. In this programme reporter Shumaila Jaffery returns to their village before she travels to Hawkes Bay to discover what really happened on that moonlit night four decades ago. She tracks down survivors to explore if what the sacrifice of the devoted may tell us about Shia Islam today, asks; ‘could something like this ever happen again'?

Writer and poet Nikita Gill and sitar virtuoso and composer Anoushka Shankar are friends and collaborators whose life stories share many parallels. In this programme, recorded sitting with tea and doughnuts on the floor of a child's bedroom, they share an intimate conversation about a moment of spiritual awakening. Nikita reflects on the idea that awakenings or epiphanies often follow a challenging or traumatic phase of life. She recalls a series of personal experiences which compelled her to take a train north and walk all through the night and into dawn. She describes how she returned from this experience a changed person. Anoushka describes how a build up of stressful experiences pushed her to a breaking point which also became a spiritual calling. Together the women reflect on the idea that these moments are a profound part of the story arc of our lives, forcing us to confront our deepest values and setting us on a new path. They share how the experience led to new wisdoms and spiritual practices. Prodiucer: Sarah Cuddon ​A Falling Tree production for BBC World Service (Photo: Anoushka Shankar (L). Credit: Laura Lewis. (R) Nikita Gill. Credit: Peace Ofure)

In 2007 Christian and Muslim leaders in Norway controversially recognised for the first time in modern history, the right to convert between the two faiths without harassment or impediment. They also called for all missionary work to be conducted “without force or manipulation". The “Joint declaration on the freedom of religion and the right to conversion” was welcomed as an important contribution to inter-faith dialogue in the Scandinavian nation. But it was also seen by some Muslims as recognizing the right to abandon Islam, which is considered apostasy and punishable as a criminal offense in many Muslim countries. It was similarly criticised by some of Norway's evangelical churches, which saw it as disavowing their central missionary role. Reporter Maddy Savage travels to Norway to hear the stories of some of those who've chosen to convert from one of the two faiths to the other; and to ask whether the joint declaration played any role in their life changing decisions.

Fleeing from the war-torn Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, Afina Khadzynova is trying to reconnect to her Greek roots in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The ethnic Greek community has been in Mariupol since the 18th Century. Up until February of this year the city's Greeks had a vibrant cultural life, celebrating their language, traditions and religious rites, brutally cut short by the Russian invasion. Within weeks traditional Greek settlements were levelled and the city itself was besieged, leaving civilians to shelter in their basements without food, water, heat or mobile connection. Afina and her mother Olympiada managed to escape after two weeks under siege, yet her brother and nieces still remain in the occupied city. She began communicating with reporter Natalia Golysheva Deis, sending voice notes that reflect her life in the city, and her transformation into a refugee. A self-proclaimed non-believer, when the war came she started to pray to an old Greek icon to shield her from shelling. Now in Cyprus, she meets Natalia Deis around orthodox Easter as she settles into her new life away from her beloved home. Producer/presnter: Natalia Golysheva Deis A Whistledown production for BBC World Service Title song "Iнша Весна"/Another Spring, courtesy of Vitaly Kozlovsky and team (Photo: Azov Greeks' cultural festival Megha Yurty in Mariupol, 2021. Credit: Mariupol Rada)

CERN, in Geneva, is the most complex scientific experiment in the world. It has just restarted operating after a break, and is celebrating the 10th anniversary of detecting the Higgs Boson, a particle that is the final piece in the jigsaw of the standard model of physics. It explains how particles acquire mass. Without mass, there would be no matter and we wouldn't be here. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN was designed to find this Higgs boson, and smashes particles at almost the speed of light in a tunnel deep underground to discover new particles. It attempts to explain how the Big Bang worked. We go underground to visit one of the enormous detectors at the famous Large Hadron Collider and talk to young scientists from different parts of all the world who, despite looking for scientific answers to how the universe began, still believe devoutly in a creator. Among the other contributors are the designer of the LHC itself, Lyn Evans; physicists with and without faith who have been at CERN from the early days; a scientist who studies anti-matter and other members of CERN staff, old and new. Faith in Science is presented by Elin Rhys, a scientist raised as a Baptist, who struggles with not knowing the answer to what was there before The Big Bang and tries to discover how scientists with a faith square this with their research into why we exist. (Image: Elin Rhys and Dr Orlando Villalobos Baillie stand in front of the Alice Experiment at CERN. Credit: Telesgop)

In the second part of this two part series looking at the role of the Church of England in Barbados, Professor Robert Beckford explores the Christian understanding of reparations. Where does the idea come from in Scripture? Has the Anglican church been slow to address the slave trade as a focus of reparatory justice? Robert speaks to Christians in Barbados who say reparations from the Church are now both justified and necessary. But their perspective is only one side of the story. In England, representatives from the Church of England and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel articulate their understanding of reparations and how they propose to atone for their past involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Robert looks into Christian scripture to explore if there could be a theological case for the payment of reparations. Presenter: Robert Beckford Producer: Rajeev Gupta

What are the consequences of the Church of England's historic slave plantations in Barbados today? Theologian Robert Beckford considers why and how the Church's missionary arm, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, got involved in the slavery business. He travels to Barbados to hear from a range of voices who tell the story of how in 1710, the Church turned the Codrington Plantation into a missionary experiment. The original mission failed but later generations did eventually adopt the Anglican faith. However, spurred by the country becoming a republic, some are now questioning the Church's historic role in slavery. For some, it has turned them away from Christianity; for others, there is a need to decolonise or Africanise Anglican Christianity in Barbados. They say the religion's only hope of survival on the island is to make it relevant to the black majority populace. Through the voices of Bajan Anglican worshipers, Robert interrogates what the future of the Church now looks like in terms of practice and governance in Barbados. Presenter: Robert Beckford Producer: Rajeev Gupta

We explore the interplay of faith, spirituality and LGBTQ+ identity in this special episode for Pride Month 2022. We hear three fascinating cross-cultural and religious conversations between people who are also LGBTQ+. Furgie was raised a Muslim as a child in Pakistan. He speaks to Sukhdeep, a gay Sikh man in India. Abby Stein left her strict Hasidic Jewish community and transitioned but she is still very much Jewish. Abby talks to Claire who is a 73-year-old trans woman from the UK. Finally two African queer women explore their relationship with religion - one as a Christian and the other as Muslim growing up in Kenya. Producer: Nina Robinson and Josie LeVay

Raees Khan explores the history, influence and enduring legacy of Qawwali music, both within, as well as outside of the Islamic World. From its earliest origins in the writings of Sufi Saints, to its spread throughout South Asia we look at how the mystical and devotional artform spread throughout the Indian Sub-continent and attracted millions to the religion of Islam. A deeply personal journey, Raees reminisces about his first introduction to Qawwali as a young boy and how the captivating voice of one man, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, changed him forever. Along the way, we meet Tahir Qawaal, the lead vocalist in an all-Caucasian Qawwali group who spent years in Pakistan and India learning from the true masters. Tahseen Sakina explains how she feels she has been accepted as one of the only female qawaals and Abi Sampa, Rushil and Amrit Dhuffer, the members of The Orchestral Qawwali Project, tell us about introducing qawwali to a whole new audience. Presenter: Raees Khan Producer: Talat-Farooq Awan Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta (Photo: Group Fana Fi Allah and their lead singer Tahir Qawwal performing. Credit: Tahir Qawwal)

When ISIS swept into Mosul in June 2014, the organisation immediately began a campaign to wipe out the most important part of the northern Iraqi city's unique heritage - its a multi-sectarian culture. Mosul was home to ancient and modern Christian communities, Yazidis, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and at one time, Jews. Throughout the period of ISIS occupation Omar Mohammad, a history lecturer at Mosul University, risked his life daily to get news of the city out to the world via the internet. His Mosul Eye blog became essential reading. Now living in exile in Europe, Omar de Mosul, as he is known, is reconstructing the history ISIS tried and failed to wipe out, including the history of the city's Jewish community. Presenter Michael Goldfarb spends time with Omar as he collects oral histories from the remaining Jews who were born and grew up in the city. Most Jews left the city in the early 1950s in the upheaval following the establishment of Israel. He also speaks with Rabbi Carlos Huerta, retired US army chaplain, who spent the first year after the US overthrew Saddam Hussein in Mosul with the 101st Airborne. He had no idea about the rich Jewish history of the place and spent much of his time investigating it. Presenter: Michael Goldfarb Producer: Julia Hayball (Photo: The dilapidated Sasson Synagogue in Iraq's northern city of Mosul destroyed by Jihadists. Credit: by Zaid aL-Obeidi/AFP/Getty Images) A Certain Height production for BBC World Service