John Humphrys is right to complain that it is 'bizarre' to set aside three minutes a day for a sermon on breakfast radio
In a review this week the Guardian's radio critic Elisabeth Mahoney delivered a slap to the two religious slots that are supposed to add a "but seriously, folks" moral tone to breakfast radio. Why, she asked, should people without faith have to listen to these irksome homilies, while those with faith find their spiritual guidance reduced to chunks? There is no equivalent moment of scientific guidance, classical learning or poetic interlude, only a sermon dropped somewhere near the paper review on Radio 4 or a Coldplay track on Chris Evans's Radio 2 show. The fact that something makes little sense is not always a good reason for discarding it ? the Duke of Edinburgh, being celebrated this week, is both pointless and popular ? but in the case of Thought for the Day, John Humphrys is right to complain that it is "frankly bizarre" to set aside three minutes a day for a sermon. This column, rejoicing in its inconsistency, has praised the slot before, and of course it is sometimes of interest. More often, it is a vapid interruption in the business of understanding the day's news, doing no credit to the various religions from which its presenters are drawn. Sometimes people propose adding an occasional atheist thought, as if that would achieve balance, but the point is not the range of beliefs but the context. You should no more expect to hear a prayer during a train guard's announcement than a sermon not long after Gary has presented the sports news. Or indeed a news bulletin during a Sunday sermon in church.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/11/thought-of-the-day-unthinkable
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