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A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

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Sunday: 'Music of the soul'; Faith and Forgiveness; Racism in the Church of England

18/04/2021

'Music of the soul'; Faith and Forgiveness; Racism in the Church of England

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday, 'Music of the soul'; Faith and Forgiveness; Racism in the Church of England

Emily Buchanan with a look at the ethical and religious issues of the week.

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week with Emily Buchanan.

Are you feeling stressed by the pandemic? You could try Sufi meditation to music. Sufism is a form of Islamic mysticism that emphasises introspection and spiritual connection but the meditation can work whether you are of other faiths, or none. When the pandemic began the Sufi music group Zendeh Delan decided to create Sufi-inspired music to aid meditation and broaden its appeal. The result is an album fusing Persian with western orchestral instruments and it is now being used in hospitals and clinics. We talk to musician Omid Asgari about what he calls "the music of the soul" and to clinical psychologist Dr Saloumeh Bozorgzadeh about how she uses it in her practice. 

As the United States mourns the victims of the shooting at Indianapolis, Emily talks to Jennifer Hubbard, mother of six year old Catherine, who was one of twenty children and six adult staff members who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012.  It is one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history. Jennifer tells Emily how the tragedy threatened but then strengthened her faith as she put her energy into founding a sanctuary in her animal-mad daughters' name.

And as the Church of England prepares to publish a much anticipated action plan to tackle racism this week we'll discuss what needs to be done now. It is not simply a matter of atoning for the past or removing old statues or symbols - this week too the BBC's Clive Myrie investigates contemporary allegations of discrimination in the Church for Panorama. The Archbishop of Canterbury has already backed plans for more black clergy and said the Church should rethink its depiction of Jesus as white. Will this be enough?

Picture credit: MTO Shahmaghsoudi - School of Islamic Sufism

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