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Religion & Ethics

Live ethical debates on topical issues. Join in online and on social media.

Start Sunday off with the big talking points of the week, with comment from around the UK and instant audience reaction.

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Sunday Morning Live: Series 4

Samira Ahmed

Kuljinder Khaila

Dave Stanford

Simon Barnes

Lowri Turner

Jay Lakhani

David Vance

Abie Philbin Bowman

Sunday Morning Live: Series 4: Episode 8

Episode 8

Series 4

BBC One - Sunday Morning Live, Series 4, Episode 8

Samira Ahmed and her guests debate whether religion should be off-limits to comedy.

Samira Ahmed and her guests debate whether religion should be off-limits to comedy; whether should thieves go to prison; and are atheists smarter than religious people?

Samira Ahmed and her guests, broadcaster Lowri Turner, head of the Hindu Academy Jay Lakhani, Christian commentator David Vance and stand-up comedian Abie Philbin Bowman, discuss the week's ethical issues.

Should religion be off-limits to comedy?
The world of stand-up comedy has descended on Edinburgh for the annual Festival Fringe.  Performers regularly use religion in their comedy to get laughs at the Fringe. This year these include 'God, Greed and Football' and 'Jesus Christ Flew into the Cuckoo's Nest'.

Later this month, British comedian Russell Brand also kicks-off his new tour dissecting religious beliefs, called the Messiah Complex. So is religion too often targeted for laughs? Or should those that are offended turn the other cheek?

Should thieves be sent to prison?
A paper released by Howard League for Penal Reform recommends that jail should be reserved for offenders who commit crimes of a violent, sexual or threatening nature. Fines and community sentences would be more effective for offences like theft and fraud, according to Professor Andrew Ashworth from Oxford University, the report's author. He also maintains that such action could reduce the prison population in England and Wales by almost 6,000. The government says it had no intention of changing the law.

But do you agree that we should reserve prison sentences for more serious crimes? Or would these recommendations send the wrong message to criminals?

Are atheists smarter than religious people?
Atheists are smarter than those of faith - a study from the University of Rochester in America suggests. A team from the university came to that conclusion after examining 63 scientific studies into the relationship between intelligence and religious belief. They also found that infants with higher intelligence would be more likely to reject religion. And, older people with above average IQ are less religious.

So are those with faith close-minded to alternatives to religion and therefore less intelligent?

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Samira Ahmed hosts a series of live debates to raise temperatures on a Sunday morning.

The controversial live debate show is back. Samira Ahmed hosts interactive debates on the week's big moral issues. Join in on webcam and social media.

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