Radio 4 on a Sunday morning!

[paintmywholehousepink]

Why all the religious guff?!
I am a R4 listener & am also often sat in bed on a Sunday morning drinking coffee.... But I am irritated by a. the christian programming on a public radio station funded by the licence fee & b. the sound of the woman's voice who always sounds like she needs to blow her nose!! Gaaaaaah! Why?!?!?!
Anyone else feel like this?

As you say, they are funded by the licence fee - it's not unreasonable to expect that a proportion of the licence fee payers are Christians - so devoting a small portion of their air time to Christian programming on a Sunday, the traditional day of Christian worship, doesn't seem unreasonable. Why not just listen to another station while it's on, if you find it annoying?

@Pelleas

As you say, they are funded by the licence fee - it's not unreasonable to expect that a proportion of the licence fee payers are Christians - so devoting a small portion of their air time to Christian programming on a Sunday, the traditional day of Christian worship, doesn't seem unreasonable. Why not just listen to another station while it's on, if you find it annoying?

Agree!

Well yes obvs I could turn over!
But that wasn't really the point of my post.
Guess it's just me who finds the religious programming during what must be a peak time annoying then.
That and the choice adenoidal presenter. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Other radio stations are available. In my opinion there is not enough religious programming on radio and tv.

I'm an agnostic but I quite enjoy the occasional hymn.

My dad, who is a 'believer', always listens to it and he's paid his licence for years - briefly reprieved due to old age, but now they've scrapped that so he's paying again!

I agree OP!
This morning I switched over to 4 extra and enjoyed Miss Marple instead

The presenter is the vicar of the church. Is this the first time you've heard it?
It annoys me when it's 'modern' songs but not so much if it's traditional hymns.

This is the type of programme that should be on public service. The idea is to play things that are less likely to get commercial audiences but some of the population will value. In this case people who are religious but unable to attend services.
Other stations are available.

I avoid turning it on until after 8.40 on Sunday and I am a Christian.
But you could also argue that having a 'Woman's Hour ' every day is not fair (I know many men listen - my husband always enjoyed it when he could). There's no 'Mens Hour' is there?

It's Sunday. Having some religion doesnt seem unreasonable.

@Pipandmum

I avoid turning it on until after 8.40 on Sunday and I am a Christian. But you could also argue that having a 'Woman's Hour ' every day is not fair (I know many men listen - my husband always enjoyed it when he could). There's no 'Mens Hour' is there?

I find the idea of a "Women's Hour" quite patronising- as if we can't understand the rest of the programmes....

Meh. The licence fee isn’t a hypothecated tax. Do you object to gardening programmes if you don’t have a garden, or In Touch if you’re not blind, or From our own correspondent if you don’t like forriners?

Well, you could blame Henry VIII for that. Church and State and all that!

As others have said, that's what it's for. Ensuring less popular programmes still get made.

Just changes stations.

Ha ha! @ "there's no men's hour" 😂😂😂

I KNOW I CAN CHANGE STATIONS!!!

I find the idea of a "Women's Hour" quite patronising- as if we can't understand the rest of the programmes....

I find most of the WH content pointless and irritating nowadays. The guests are often of a low standard, unable to offer intelligent or insightful opinions, just responding with meaningless waffle and buzzwords.

I enjoy Sunday and Sunday Worship.
Listen to something else or switch off if you don't want to listen.

Do the same people who think this is what should be on a publicly funded station, also think that state funded Catholic schools are ok?

There was a Men’s Hour for a while on Radio 5. Covered a range of stuff including health and parenting.

We do have a state religion. It's not my religion but if you want to disestablish the Church of England, probably not an effective strategy to start with radio 4.

I don't see why the occasional religious programme is so bad? It's hardly wall to wall coverage.

Aren't the Archers on now? Or am I looking at the wrong radio station?

Comparing schools to radio content isn't really a fair analogy. Radio - you can switch it off - school - you have to, by law, attend - and you may not have much choice about which one your children have to go to.

However, if we are allowing state funded faith schools at all, Catholic is no 'worse' than CofE. There are Catholics amongst the tax-payers of the UK who are paying for our state schools.

As an atheist, I still agree with some religious programming on a state broadcaster.

However, those saying to switch over - that's the issue with times when Radio 4 has something on you don't enjoy (Digital Human, anyone?!)...there IS no alternative station! There's nothing similar at all on radio.

@paintmywholehousepink

Do the same people who think this is what should be on a publicly funded station, also think that state funded Catholic schools are ok?

It's never occurred to me to think about what 'should' or 'shouldn't' be broadcast on a publicly funded station (beyond the obvious).

Any religious stuff gets turned off/over immediately.

However, religious stuff on a Sunday morning, in a Christian country hardly seems surprising or unsuitable.

However, Steve Allen is RUINING my early mornings in LBC. So I feel your pain.