A selection of recent Religious Affairs stories
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Built the widest-ranging survey ever conducted of Church of England priests, analysing responses from a representative sample of 1,200 active clergy. Led to more than ten stories across five days. Click for front page.
Click for double-page spread
World exclusive on the first ever involvement of non-Christian religions in a British coronation, revealing that Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish peers would hand the King his regalia during the ceremony
Also an interview with the Chief Rabbi over the remarkable steps taken to allow an Orthodox Jewish leader to attend a Christian church on the Jewish sabbath for the coronation
Exposé of concerns over misogynistic abuse and sexist bullying in the Methodist Church, uncovered via internal reviews that had been withheld from worshippers and the public
Reporting from Ukraine
Was only journalist embedded with Archbishop of Canterbury on visit to Ukraine. Travelled in via 17-hour sleeper train, saw devastation in Bucha, visited churches used as morgues, took refuge in bomb shelters during air-raid alerts.
Led to series of religion stories from Ukraine, a follow-up story from a UK army base, and also a science story on the harvesting of apples from Chernobyl. Click each image above to read full stories.
Church of England invests millions of pounds in Google, but does not tackle internet giant about its tax arrangements, violating the church’s ethical investment policy.
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The Times reveals the battle between far-right and Islamist extremists for control of the historic Speakers Corner in Hyde Park corner
Bishops express anger at Westminster Abbey for holding a service of thanks for nuclear submarine crews
Church of England lays claim to half a million acres of underground resources across the country, almost all beneath privately-owned land, Times data investigation reveals.
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BBC to give all religions primetime boost, dealing with more religious themes in dramas, marking a range of festivals in magazine shows, and increasing focus on religion in news coverage.
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Exclusive on plans being discussed by the Vatican for the Pope to attend the COP26 climate conference in Glagsow in person (page 1 story and page three story)
Majority of Muslims say they want “full integration” with British society, as study shows they share same social views and concerns as their non-Muslim neighbours.
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The Archbishop of Canterbury rattles the Conservatives with his most strident political speech, criticising government policy and calling for a “new unionisation” of Britain
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‘The dead are reclaiming the earth’, as my investigation finds councils are running out of space in their cemeteries, forcing them to requisition allotments, parkland and playgrounds to bury their dead
‘Welby says Church has failed to tackle racism’ on publication of report saying Church of England must boost diversity and stamp out “racial sin”
‘Stop racial profiling, Jews urged’, as synagogues told that security guards often conduct bag searches only on ethnic minority worshippers
Muslim leaders plan Britain’s first National Council of Imams, to promote a progressive interpretation of Islam and provide guidance on religious and cultural questions, The Times reveals.
Times investigation reveals how faith in Britain is changing – For every Church of England church that closes, three Pentecostal churches and two mosques open. Faith in Britain is not dying, but is fragmenting as large, ancient institutions lose out to denominations brought from abroad.
‘Avoid church if at risk, says Welby’, giving his only pre-Christmas interview to The Times to warn that the vulnerable should still stay away from Christmas church services
Investigation finds that hundreds of churches per year are asking to rip out their pews and turn their churches into open halls for local communities, to attract new worshippers (and income) through the door
Politics and religion should not mix, according to a poll commissioned by The Times. People want politicians to keep their personal faith themselves and want bishops to lose automatic seats in the House of Lords.
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‘Anglican leaders hid sex abusers for years’, finds damning report into the handling of allegations against bishops and priests over seven decades
‘Woman takes over at Muslim council’ as Muslim Council of Britain appoints its first female head
Following reports of what was claimed to be Britain’s ‘first’ same-sex wedding involving a Muslim, The Times reveals that gay marriage is actually ‘thriving’ in Britain’s Muslim community,
Feature on the shift to online worshipping during the Covid-19 pandemic and the church’s hope that it can reach new people who may turn up in person when the pandemic ends
For the first time in over a millennium, choirgirls outnumber choirboys in Church of England cathedrals, The Times discovers
Rabbis see a rise in the number of older Jews holding second bar or bat mitzvah ceremonies, in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, as people celebrate living longer.
Rabbis, priests and imams are flocking to trade unions amid workplace stress and conflict, The Times learns.
Mosques find ingenious technological solution to the age-old question: when exactly is dawn? How they used astronomy to work out the right time for morning prayers.
The Church of England should be stripped of its exemptions under the Equality Act to help it stamp out a culture of abuse, sexism and homophobia, a serving bishop tells The Times
A senior coroner faces calls to resign and the threat of a judicial review over her refusal to prioritise Jewish and Muslim families who require speedy religious funerals.
French Jews seek refuge in London after gun attacks in France, as synagogues report influx of worshippers from across the Channel
Britain is a beacon of Islamic values, says leading cleric, who said it is easier to live a truly Islamic life in Britain than in many Muslim countries
Amid the horrors of 2017, the community response to the tragedies and disasters should give Britain hope for a brighter 2018, the Archbishop of Canterbury says.
A divorce practice that is outlawed in Pakistan and soon to become illegal in India is still “very common” in the UK, prompting Muslim scholars to call for end to use of ‘triple talaq’
Leading Islamic scholars attend conference with military top brass as part of unprecedented efforts to encourage more Muslims to join the armed forces, The Times reveals
Kaya Burgess 
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