In my view this programme is interesting without being engaging – perhaps it’s the fact that it’s just too narrator driven for my taste. The wide ranging choice of locations and religions was both the point of interest in the piece and the thing that made it seem fragmented and distancing.
Each item was fascinating in its starting thesis, I had no idea of the movement of Hellenes in Greece for instance. But for me this piece in particular had far too much explanation by Jon Miller – who has a very pleasant voice – but I found I didn’t want the thing explained to me by an outsider; I wanted to hear it from the people concerned themselves.
I find that with this kind of radio, at a certain point I feel my brain going into switch-off mode, waiting to be activated again when another voice pops up.
On a personal note, I found it interesting to see how I as listener reacted to the different pieces – for instance, feeling sympathy for the Buddhists under threat by evangelicals in Korea and repelled by the Mormon Church’s idea of “bribing” converts with education.
The place of religion in society is a subject under much discussion these days and there are fascinating conversations going on around us on it if we feel the urge to tap into them. It is a subject that deserves discussion in a public forum, and for that reason, I think the idea of this programme was commendable, but in the end I’m afraid to say, I just found it a bit too bland and sanitized for my personal taste.