Religion on the air

Would You Believe Touched by an Angel is considered a religious programme in Canada? Peter Filmington of Vision TV - which broadcasts nothing but religious programmes - told a recent conference that Touched by an Angel had been the "hit of '96". Vision is in its 10th year and is a purely commercial cable station, going out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, into over six million homes. Its success, he said, is due to "image with soul". Television, he said, is "the storyteller of the day" and for religions not to use it is "a sin of omission, if not commission". He was speaking in Prague, in the Czech Republic, to delegates from 24 European countries at the fifth European Boradcasting Union (EBU) religious broadcasting conference, on religion in a changing TV market. Filmington says he views religion as an "extremely marketable product", so it perplexed him, looking at the international scene, that though "news junkies" could access CNN and science lovers had the Discovery channel, there was no equivalent religion channel.

"Where do I tune on a regular basis to get the spiritually inspired music and celebration, the prophetic documentaries, the `voice of the voiceless', the rich and soulful drama, the struggles of our communities to live faithful lives in a secular world?" he asked. "Where is my guide to the spiritual journey and the world beyond?"

Other broadcasters at the conference spoke of special programmes they are making to mark the millennium. One of the most interesting is The Great Hope, being made by the SDR TV station in Germany. Featuring the theologian Dr Hans Kung, it is a seven-part series in which he will look at what the great world religions have in common. The BBC, meanwhile, is looking for "gripping stories of what happened people who lived out the words of Jesus". They hope to present them in a series, Test of Time.

An Irish independent TV company, Little Bird, is preparing a six-part series, The Saints. In a context where the 277 saints and 769 beatifications have taken place during the current papacy, they will be looking at some of the more remarkable personalities involved down the ages. Included will be coverage of the phenomenal devotion to Padre Pio, who is now said to attract more pilgrims to Italy than go to Lourdes.

Liam Miller, managing director for organisation and development at RTE, has the job of coordinating millennium programmes for the EBU. He told the conference it is hoped to create in co-production one major event "to portray a strong confident public service in Europe going into the millennium". Plans are also afoot to involve the American PBS network in a "Millennium Day" programme, he said.