A new four-part OU/BBC production of Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle airs tonight at 8pm on BBC Scotland and will be available on BBC iPlayer thereafter.
This is the second series of the programme that sees adventurer Ben Fogle travel across some of Scotland’s most beautiful islands to explore how faith and belief took root and how that still thrives in island communities today.
Episode one also airs on BBC One on Sunday 22 October at 10.30am and sees Ben visit Arran and Holy Isle, followed by Islay and Jura in episode 2; the Orkney Isles in episode 3 and episode 4 concludes this series when he visits the Isle of Skye.
Professor Marion Bowman, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at The Open University and Academic Consultant for the OU on the series, said:
“As a Scottish Religious Studies scholar, my research areas are Vernacular Religion (which focuses on religion as it is lived in everyday life), diverse forms of contemporary spirituality, and new non-traditional forms of pilgrimage in Scotland.
“So working on Scotland’s Sacred Islands has been right up my street! It’s been a pleasure to be involved in bringing to a wider audience some insights into possibly unfamiliar places, spiritual practices, cultural traditions and worldviews.
“I hope that people will find the beauty and diversity of the islands visited, the insights into traditional forms of religiosity, new spiritual and personal quests and the many means of community-building and making sense of life featured both fascinating and thought-provoking.”
Another Academic Consultant for the OU on the series, Professor of Religious History, John Wolffe said:
“Through its focus on fascinating and scenic islands this series explores changing forms of religious expression and spirituality in the contemporary world and raises important questions about the nature of communities and their relationship to the environment. It has been a rewarding privilege to be involved.”
This series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with particular relevance to R45 BA (Hons) Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, R14 BA (Hons) Arts and Humanities, R45 BA (Hons) Religion, Philosophy and Ethics and R23 BA (Hons) Social Sciences
- Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Head of Broadcast and Partnerships
- Academic Consultants: Professor Marion Bowman and Professor John Wolffe
- Media Fellow: Dr Joanna Paul
- Broadcast Project Manager: Clair Robinson
- Supporting online content: Matthew Ray
Supporting Online content:
Visit our Broadcast and Partnerships site OU Connect where you can find an exclusive interview with Ben Fogle discussing spirituality and mindfulness, as well as articles from the Academic Consultants on the rediscovery of pilgrimage and the perceived Christian decline in Scotland. (NB: this site may not be live or complete prior to broadcast)
Main image: ©Tern Television Productions
