1. God Bless Britain
Religion, spirituality and national identity in factual
British television
Ruth A. Deller
r.a.deller@shu.ac.uk @ruthdeller

2. God Bless Britain
• PhD Research: religion/spirituality on
mainstream factual British TV 2000-09
• Presentation themes:
– Construction of a 'British' spiritual/religious identity
– The 'threat' of 'other' cultures to British values
– 'Gazing' upon 'other' cultures

3. Context
• Britain: a Secular, Christian or Multi-faith
country?
• Theoretical concerns (sociology): Secularisation,
new 'spiritualities', 're-emergence' of faith...
• Theoretical concerns (media studies):
Representation, audiences, 'interaction'...
• Global and national events/news
• Public Service Broadcasting
• The age of multiple channels and the internet

4. Britain - a secular country?
'Ours is said to be a godless age. Yet billions remain
faithful to religions thousands of years old...
whether we are believers or we are not...
[Christianity] continues to exert the profoundest
influence on the world in which we live'
(Christianity: A History, Channel 4 2009)

5. Britain - a secular country?

6. Britain - a secular country?
'Each of those selected had his own
particular reason for being here. All have
agreed to leave behind friends, family,
careers, whilst they go in search of life’s
No Sex Please, We're Teenagers
deeper meaning. For the duration of their
stay, they will be forced to abandon the
desires and temptations of the outside world.
Perhaps for the first time, they’ll have the
space to really question their values and
Make Me a Christian
priorities and discover if what they learn here
can sustain them in their lives outside' (The
Monastery, BBC Two, 2005)
The Retreat

7. A very 'British' religion?
A Brief History of Disbelief (BBC Four, 2004) The English Church (Channel 4, 2002)
'When we feel the pull of the past, that's our Pagan
past calling us' (Pagans, Channel 4, 2004)
[In the Dark Ages] 'the peoples of Britain created a new
idea of themselves: a Christian identity which made us
what we are today' (Christianity: A History)

8. A very 'British' religion?
'I believe many are possessed of views which are at
odds with mainstream, liberal Britain about freedom of
speech, education and homosexuality... No rock music,
no waving of hands in the air, and not much in the way
of tongues so far as I can remember... I like this side of
Anglicanism. Doubt, rather than certainty is its defining
characteristic. It mirrors the rest of our culture, a place
where debate is encouraged'
Dispatches: 'The New
Fundamentalists' (2006)

9. The threat of 'other' cultures
'British, but with a different skin colour, food,
language, religion... governments celebrated these
differences and called it multiculturalism... they've
changed their tune' (Panorama: 'True Brits', BBC
One 2008)

10. The threat of 'other' cultures
Dispatches: 'The New Fundamentalists' (2006) Dispatches: 'In God's Name' (2008)
'The hidden and subversive tactics used by some
American evangelicals... divorced women are a
target... children are most susceptible' (Dispatches
'Unholy War', Channel 4 2007)

11. The threat of 'other' cultures
Enemies of Reason (Channel 4, 2007) Gary: Young, Psychic and Possessed (BBC Three,
2009)
'The strange world of shamans, therapists, bizarre
practices and ancient texts' (Alternative Medicines,
BBC Two 2007)

12. 'Gazing' upon 'other' cultures
The Fundamentalists (Channel 4, 2006) Mel B: Voodoo Princess (Channel 4, 2001)
'I come much more from the still, small voice of calm
school and I don’t really like being shouted at, yelled at,
preached at… I think it’s fair to say tonight I didn’t see any
miracles. But what I did see was a very strong God saving
America and there is no room for any other religion within
that' (Around the World in 80 Faiths, BBC Two, 2009).

13. 'Gazing' upon 'other' cultures
'Religious fervour and an often unquestioning acceptance of the Bible
are combined with an historic deep-rooted belief in sorcery and
witchcraft' (Dispatches: 'Saving Africa's Witch Children', Channel 4,
2008).
'Such was the impact of Dispatches' first report that much has
changed for Africa's witch children. Apart from the introduction of
the Child Rights Act, some churches that branded children witches
have been closed' ('Return to Africa's Witch Children', 2009).

14. Conclusion
• Britain: a Secular, Christian or Multi-faith
country?
• Theoretical concerns (sociology): Secularisation,
new 'spiritualities', 're-emergence' of faith...
• Theoretical concerns (media studies):
Representation, audiences, 'interaction'...
• Global and national events/news
• Public Service Broadcasting
• The age of multiple channels and the internet