Make Thought for the Day inclusive of the non-religious

Help make Thought for the Day inclusive!

Thought for the Day is a religious slot that obtrudes itself on the general listener when it is featured every morning during the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. It plainly proclaims to all, five days a week that reflective thoughts on the events of the day come only from people with ‘a faith’. There are different views about the idea of a reflective slot in the middle of a current affairs programme: some see no place for it, others think it is a valuable interlude. But so long as it exists it is entirely unacceptable to exclude some speakers just because they are non-religious. We want BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day programme to include humanist perspectives.

We are asking supporters to email the BBC Trust to ask them to make Thought for the Day inclusive.

You can read our position on our website, which sets out some arguments for the inclusion of non-religious contributors to Thought for the Day.

Please email Rona Fairhead, Chair of the BBC Trust, to ask her to ensure that Thought for the Day becomes inclusive of humanist contributors! You can edit the text in the box below as you want. In fact, we know that personal letters make more of an impact, so please do add in your own thoughts and perspective.

You can read more about our campaigns in this area on our website.

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Dear Ms Fairhead,
I am writing to express my frustration that Today’s ‘Thought for the Day’ slot continues to bar contributions from those with no faith. I do not believe that you need a ‘faith perspective’ for an ethical view of the world.
There is no good reason why non-religious people should not be able to hear views expressed that are representative of their opinions – especially as the number of licence-fee paying public who consider themselves to be humanists or of no faith continues to rise.
In ignoring humanists and atheists ‘Thought for the Day’ seems at odds with the BBC’s ethos of ‘fairness, balance and a voice for everyone in the country’. The current policy that expressly prevents non-religious speakers from contributing is plainly discriminatory. There is a wealth of humanist knowledge and thinking out there, ready to reflect on issues and people in the news, and such calls have been supported by its new editor Sarah Sands, by Today programme presenters like John Humphreys and Evan Davis, and even by the BBC’s impartiality adviser during its last impartiality review.
I therefore urge you to support any moves to change this policy in the future.

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Make Thought for the Day inclusive of the non-religious

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