I just watched an excellent programme that I had recorded: Hardeep Does Religion on Channel 4. Hardeep Singh Kohli is a comedian from Glasgow. He is a Sikh by background and he wears a turban. But he's not religious, he wears the turban because it's part of his cultural history (and his mum would kill him if he didn't). Not only is Hardeep not religious, he wants to see an end to religion.
Hardeep's basic premise is that religion is not needed in order to live a happy, moral life and religion does more harm than good by rejecting abortion and homosexuality. Hardeep talks to young people from a variety of religious backgrounds. Their main justification for religion is that it's needed to provide a moral framework. Is it really the case that such much of religion is based on the idea that people would be immoral without it?
Hardeep tries to start his own religion in which you have to be nice without any promise of heaven. He manages to get a few converts, but many don't like the idea of having to give up the idea of heaven.
Hardeep has an attitude of pleasant bemusement throughout the programme and allows the religious participants to make their own religions appear childish.
The really good part about this programme is that it's part of Channel 4's education output. It's listed on their site under PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education). I'm really pleased that a programme like this being made for teenagers. It would have been nice to see some humanist young people though, their beliefs would have matched Hardeep's made-up 'religion' pretty well.
