Today hosts ‘think religious slot is beneath them’

FOR a three-minute slot on the radio, it’s attracted a lot of controversy. And now the almighty row over Thought for the Day has been reignited – by a rather unhappy priest.

Dr Giles Fraser – a regular contributor to the segment on Radio 4’s Today programme – has taken a swipe at the ‘assumed superiority’ of the show’s presenter John Humphrys and ‘metropolitan liberals [who] think religion is beneath them’. The Church of England priest’s intervention comes after Humphrys described Thought for the Day as ‘deeply, deeply boring’.

The BBC host called for more secular content to replace ‘the God slot’ last October, adding that it was frustrating to cut a ‘really fascinating programme short’ to hear that ‘Jesus was really nice’. He said it was ‘inappropriate that Today should broadcast nearly three minutes of uninterrupted religion, given that rather more than half our population have no religion at all’.

At the time, Dr Fraser, the former canon chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, said ‘sneering at religion’ had become a badge of pride among the Today team. Three months on, he has resumed his defence of Thought for the Day, writing in Radio Times: ‘That was precisely the problem with John Humphrys’ “deeply, deeply boring” comment. It had an edge to it, a sense of assumed superiority ... as if there is something about religious belief and religious believers that is not really worthy of his attention or interest. And this chimes in with a widespread feeling amongst believers that metropolitan liberals in the media think religion is beneath them, that it is not to be taken seriously.’