Songs of praise getting more bizarre

radioanorak · 01/02/15 - 15:57

Today exploring changing attitudes toward mental illness.
What has this got to do with songs of praise
The subject matter of this programme has changed & not for the better

mossy2103 · 01/02/15 - 16:00

Perhaps the overall concept of religion, its values and what it stands for (in its many guises) has changed, and the programme is simply reflecting that change

Billy_Value · 01/02/15 - 16:09

its the pits these days, you know exactly what the BBC are gonna to do with it

Albacom · 01/02/15 - 17:49

radioanorak wrote: »

Today exploring changing attitudes toward mental illness.
What has this got to do with songs of praise
The subject matter of this programme has changed & not for the better

I think the subject matter is fine for a programme like Songs of Praise to tackle. The trouble is, it didn't tackle it well. It was a jumbled mish mash of "This person has depression" and then going on to a piece about Gospel choirs. I am interested in mental health because it affects millions in society and I would have liked to have seen how religion reacts with the subject and what support is given to sufferers. It didn't give any such details and it was dealth with rather flippantly.

mossy2103 wrote: »

Perhaps the overall concept of religion, its values and what it stands for (in its many guises) has changed, and the programme is simply reflecting that change

Indeed. religion and its perceptions have changed, but Songs of Praise has become a show that is desperately trying to be everything for everyone and at the same time is alienating a massive section of its audience. There are those who still like to observe their faith in a solemn and spiritual yet traditional way. They might have congregations singing hymns but they are overlooking the core concept of what Songs of Praise was meant to be. For example, by all means have a "hip hop carol" at Christmas if you so wish, but don't deprive those who look forward to Carols by candlelight each year - which they did last year. Last Christmas on BBC1 you had trendy happy clappy Christians, hip hop and a Big Sing in songs of Praise and on Christmas Day you had a hideous contemporary celebration - which didn't even attract a million viewers on Christmas morning. It is totally fine to reflect society in general and offer varying styles of worship, but it is also important to observe things respectfully and appealingly. This is where Songs of Praise is failing.

Billy_Value wrote: »

its the pits these days, you know exactly what the BBC are gonna to do with it

Well, I do sense the BBC only show it out of tokenism now. It really has lost its quaintness.

Doghouse Riley · 01/02/15 - 18:13

Why not just have Aled Jones, some guest singers and a choir, sing some good old rousing Christian hymns, or would that be too controversial?

Albacom · 01/02/15 - 18:16

Doghouse Riley wrote: »

Why not just have Aled Jones, some guest singers and a choir, sing some good old rousing Christian hymns, or would that be too controversial?

What? You mean catering for its audience? Come on, be sensible! Why would they want to do that?

Doghouse Riley · 01/02/15 - 18:20

wizzywick wrote: »

What? You mean catering for its audience? Come on, be sensible! Why would they want to do that?

Well, they'd probably think they might offend "some of the population."

Albacom · 01/02/15 - 18:34

Doghouse Riley wrote: »

Well, they'd probably think they might offend "some of the population."

They might offend those who don't watch it!!! I guess they have to take that into consideration! What I find amusing is the now obligatory rule of including other religions. Which is fine, but Songs of Praise is on Sunday because it's the Christian Sabbath. Surely they'll end up offending other religions by not airing their relevant segments on their sabbath?

scotch · 02/02/15 - 18:54

The wonderful Barbara Dickson has recorded a song for them.

It's time they showed it!!

Ed R.Marley · 02/02/15 - 19:48

I thought it was canned ages ago and The Big Questions now catered for the god squad.

TUC · 02/02/15 - 21:20

wizzywick wrote: »

on Christmas Day you had a hideous contemporary celebration - which didn't even attract a million viewers on Christmas morning.

In what way was it hideous? It far more reflects the church today than traditional Songs of Praise approaches.

[Deleted User] · 02/02/15 - 21:27

The last SOP I really enjoyed was a Moody and Sankey special.

ftv · 02/02/15 - 21:39

Didn't the BBC say recently they were going to broaden its brief to reflect other religions apart from Christianity ?

Chris1964 · 02/02/15 - 23:18

ftv wrote: »

Didn't the BBC say recently they were going to broaden its brief to reflect other religions apart from Christianity ?

Its still a Christian show but its had a makeover:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/e3a23e35-e233-3b59-9ac4-3e7561cff645

davews · 03/02/15 - 07:03

As a Christian I enjoyed SofP in the past mainly because I enjoy traditional christian hymns and a smattering of modern ones together with the Christian commentary. I have even taken part in a couple of programs including a Big Sing and there was a real atmosphere in the congregation that we were doing something useful to spread the message.
I lost interest when they moved to the new format - it should really be about individual churches contributing their bit, not this mishmash of things not really related to mainline religion we have now.

Albacom · 03/02/15 - 09:20

TUC wrote: »

In what way was it hideous? It far more reflects the church today than traditional Songs of Praise approaches.

In your opinion it reflects the church today. In my opinion, it was very divisive. There were rock songs singing non-Christmas songs and whilst it may be "modern", it didn't attract an audience. A traditional service on Christmas morning can attract around 1.5m viewers. This service only just scraped 800K. Christianity is fragmented. There are those who believe "happy clappy rock style" services are the way forward but this alienates the millions who prefer the traditional style. At Christmas especially, the Service needs to be traditional - do it in a modern style if you wish, but make it feel Christmassey for those watching. If you can't have a traditional carols by candlelight edition of Songs of Praise as last Christmas, then make the Christmas day service traditional.

Guest82722 · 03/02/15 - 09:25

I suspect they are trying to kill SOP off.

Upset its core audience- then declare no one is watching any more.

Rosie Primrose · 03/02/15 - 10:27

ShaunFerguson wrote: »

The last SOP I really enjoyed was a Moody and Sankey special.

Oh my goodness. I come from generations of Methodists and Moody and Sankey were a huge part of my childhood.

[Deleted User] · 03/02/15 - 10:47

Rosie Primrose wrote: »

Oh my goodness. I come from generations of Methodists and Moody and Sankey were a huge part of my childhood.

Grannie went to see Sankey on his last visit to England; she would have been 13 at the time.

hyperstarsponge · 03/02/15 - 11:48

We now have TBN UK on Freeview 65 which does that job better then SOP.

Doghouse Riley · 03/02/15 - 12:52

Sadly, it's all about how many people will watch a programme rather than the quality of the actual content.

Ed R.Marley · 03/02/15 - 12:59

hyperstarsponge wrote: »

We now have TBN UK on Freeview 65 which does that job better then SOP.

I'd consider that channel to be more evangelical than your traditional CoE

davews · 03/02/15 - 18:00

Yes, TBN is like all the religious channels on Freesat, far too evangelical for my liking (lots of Charles Wesley please, being a Methodist...).

BryanandLuc · 03/02/15 - 18:16

I'[m guessing that the traditional SOP audience was middle age to elderly, possibly housebound, who liked to see congregations singing well know hymns
The new BBC head of religous broadcasting is a Muslim

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5309777/Controversial-Muslim-programme-maker-to-be-head-of-BBC-religion.html

evilweazel · 04/02/15 - 16:35

radioanorak wrote: »

Today exploring changing attitudes toward mental illness.
What has this got to do with songs of praise
The subject matter of this programme has changed & not for the better

To be honest I think it's pretty ironic that Songs of Praise is talking about other mental illnesses.

Hey there!

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Songs of praise getting more bizarre

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