1. The Representation of
Religious/Spiritual
Experience on factual
British TV, 2000-09
Ruth Deller, Sheffield Hallam University
AHRC-funded PhD candidate

2. Presentation Outline
 Factual TV conventions
 Personalities
 Journeys and experiences
 Acceptable and unacceptable beliefs and
practices
 How do these programmes relate to
sociological debates?
 Secularism and ‘re-enchantment’
 NRMs, ‘fundamentalisms’, ‘pick and mix’,
spirituality over religion
 Personalisation and individualisation of belief

3. British Factual TV Conventions
 Personality-driven – whatever subject/genre
 Celebrities
 ‘Experts’
 Real people
 Heroes and villains
 Group ‘roles’
 Heroes or ‘good’ people (or ‘neutrals’) control narratives
 'Shorthand' and stereotypes
 About ‘journeys’ or ‘experiences’
 Literal and/or metaphorical
 Geographical, historical, internal
 Tourism – look at the unusual, the spectacle
 Transforming – personal change

4. The ‘journey’
• ‘I’m going on an unprecedented journey, to
take part in rites rarely filmed before and
learn about how humankind practices
religion. As a priest I’ll be confronting
cultures that will challenge my values and
prejudices. I’ll be surprised, offended,
enlightened and amidst the baffling and the
bizarre I’ll find moments of great warmth and
serenity.’ (Peter Owen Jones, Around the
World in 80 Faiths, BBC Two, 2009)

5. ‘Acceptable’

6. What is acceptable?
 Moderation, tolerance, liberalism, acceptance
 Willingness to change or be questioned
 Doing ‘good’ deeds
 Emotional/sensory – within limits
 Peacefulness, silence, stillness
 ‘Natural’ or ‘authentic’ practices and beliefs
 Rationality
 ‘Meaningful’
 The exotic – but only in its proper place
 Personal transformation – within reason.

7. ‘Acceptable’
 ‘I think she’s, she’s the epitome of the English
Muslim because in the United Kingdom really
there’s a need to create a culture, not preserve a
culture, not preserve a Moroccan or an Egyptian or
a Pakistani or an Indian way, but the need to create
a British Islam, which meets the spiritual needs of
the British people, people in modern times’. (The
Retreat, BBC Two)

8. ‘Acceptable’
 ‘Ithink our Hindu faith is very very important
to us. I don’t sit in a temple and pray for
hours on end. Even if it’s expected of me, I
don’t think I’d be able to carry that out, I’m
not that religious. But yeah, we do have our
two minutes in the morning, myself and
God’ (Karma Babies, BBC One).

9. ‘Acceptable’
 ‘For these people a love of God is at the heart of
their community. In these merciless conditions, their
faith is what breathes life into their existence’.
(Around the World in 80 Faiths, BBC Two)
 ‘It’s impossible not to be drawn in by the beauty of
the ritual of prayer’. (Dan Cruickshanks’ Adventures
in Architecture, BBC Four/Two)

10. ‘Acceptable’
 ‘Itruly believe that Christianity is not on its
last legs, that the faith I learned from my
grandmother is still as strong as ever. If the
traditional churches of the west can only
resolve their problems and reach out to and
work with people of faith across the world
then Christianity can not only survive, but
prosper’. (Christianity: A History, Channel 4)

11. Moments of ‘transformation’
 ‘It struck me that was what yoga is – whenever body and
mind are together, and still. Something was definitely
happening, because the next morning, I couldn’t stop
crying’. (Jayne Middlemiss, The Beginner’s Guide to…
Yoga, Channel 4, 2007)
 ‘What happened about an hour and a half ago has
completely changed me. Something happened, something
touched me very deeply and very profoundly but I tell you
something, right, and this is me talking, this isn’t someone
that wanted this to happen, or expected it to, when I woke
up this morning, I didn’t believe in this and I, as I speak to
you know, I do. Whatever ‘it’ is, and I still don’t know what
that is, I believe in it, cos I saw it and I felt it and it spoke to
me and that’s something that will stay with me for the rest
of my life’. (Tony, The Monastery, BBC Two, 2005)

12. What is unacceptable?
 The exotic – out of context
 ‘Extreme’ emotional or physical manifestations and
expressions
 Being ‘too formal’, cold or closed-minded
 Conservative, ‘fundamentalist’ views
 ‘Irrational’ or ‘suspicious/sinister’ beliefs
 Controlling others, especially children
 Trying to force beliefs on others
 Money being made from beliefs/practices
 Hypocrisy
 ‘Flaky’ beliefs with no ‘substance’

13. ‘Unacceptable’

14. ‘Unacceptable’
 ‘Is someone who believes the Holy Spirit speaks to
them in the language of angels worthy of our
respect, or in need of psychological treatment?’ (Am
I Normal?, BBC Two)
 ‘Are these children just innocent conduits of the work
of God, or are they the result of desperate parents
and overzealous congregations in search of the
miraculous?’ (Baby Bible Bashers, Channel 4)

15. ‘Unacceptable’
 ‘Well, my first impression is that this is just… silly.
There may be hidden truth in that but it… looks like a
sort of er, just a kind of sell for people who are
desperate’ (Imagine: The Secret of Life, BBC One)
 ‘Hardline Christians are not just campaigning to
change our laws. A group meets regularly in London
to campaign against the building of a large mosque’.
(Dispatches: In God’s Name, Channel 4)

16. ‘Unacceptable’
 ‘Green Lane mosque (shots of promo material) calls
itself a centre for interfaith communication,
welcoming people of all religions, but our reporter
filmed there over four months, and found this
speaker, Abu Usama, was their main English
Language preacher. He says Christians and Jews
are enemies to Muslims’. (Dispatches: Undercover
Mosque, Channel 4)

17. Secularisation
 Dominant perspective: Britain is a secular
society (or at least is perceived as being), but
religion still matters to some:
 ‘People often say religion is a spent force, but I
suspect it’s alive and kicking’. (Peter Owen-
Jones, Around the World in 80 Faiths, BBC Two,
2009)
 ‘Ours is said to be a godless age. Yet billions
remain faithful to religions thousands of years
old’. (Christianity: A History, Channel 4, 2009)

18. NRMS and fundamentalisms
 NRMS barely covered and when they are,
they are treated with suspicion or seen as
‘flaky’ or a joke.
 ‘Fundamentalism’ is always seen as
negative, within religion or atheism.
Opposing value = moderation (aka liberalism
and tolerance). ‘Fundamental beliefs’ rarely
understood or explained, but heavily
criticised.

19. ‘Pick and Mix’ spirituality
 ‘It’s a way of getting closer to God… so it’s a way
of getting in touch with the universe, God, the
divine… because everyone’s different, they’ve all
got their own ways…’ (Jayne Middlemiss, The
Beginner’s Guide to… Yoga, Channel 4, 2007)
 ‘My aim is to help Charlie’s life change, in a
spiritual way. To do that I’m going to introduce
him to four practices that he’s going to use in his
life for the next four weeks. I’m not asking him to
believe in any of these religions or even in God…’
(Jonathan Edwards, Spirituality Shopper, Channel
4, 2003)

20. Spirituality over religion?
 Key ‘buzz’ word – but most used in a
sensitive way or positive way when relating to
mainstream religion.
 ‘Alternative’ spiritualities generally treated
with suspicion or derision.
 Use of shorthand e.g. nature, sunrises,
candles to represent ‘spiritual’ moments.

21. Personalisation/Individualism
 Strong emphasis on personal journeys,
personal experiences, personal
interpretations, personal values.
 Group expressions of spirituality can be
uplifting but there is also suspicion over
collective religious/spiritual experiences.

22. Audiences
 Does it represent 'me'/'us'?
 Do 'we' get a fair treatment?
 Where people do/don't buy into the narratives
of the programmes.

23. Summary
 Sense of importance of religion (this has increased
over decade, less ‘why believe’, more ‘what is role of
religion’).
 Spirituality and religion still largely understood through
shorthand and stereotyping.
 Several groups/beliefs still excluded.
 Emphasis on moderation and tolerance within
religious belief.
 Desire for ‘fairness’ and detailed exploration of topics.
 Clear levels of what is and isn’t acceptable.