A message from our Trustees: Why you should become a Friend of the Sandford St Martin Trust
“Whether you’re a believer or not, religion has an enormous influence on the society we live in: think of our major institutions, social welfare, schools and, above all, values. Religion not only shapes the communities around us but also informs the choices people make and how they understand their place in the world. As an enormous force for good or ill, it’s far too important to ignore.
“The Sandford St Martin Trust is committed to making the case for excellent broadcasting that explores religion, ethics and spiritual issues. Over forty years our annual Awards have championed this vital genre, programmes and programme makers and we’ve lobbied hard for our national broadcasters to maintain the quantity and quality of what’s available to audiences.
Now we need your support.
“Broadcast technology is rapidly changing; to stay effective we need to change too. Recent research by Ofcom identified a dramatic decline both in the hours and the investment that public service broadcasters are dedicating to religious content. Take this, together with the rapid growth of online programme-providers, and the rise of “fake news” at a time when religion has had such a powerful influence on world events – and it’s clear that the need for religious literacy and good religious broadcasting has never been greater.
“By donating, becoming a Friend or a Partner, you can help shape and support our work in the future. Your gift will help to secure the future of the Sandford St Martin Trust and will support our work to promote and protect excellent religious and ethical broadcasting in the UK.”
Become a Friend
Your regular gift of £5 a month (or £3 a month with concessions), with Gift Aid and match funding will more than double. So £5 a month becomes worth £12.50 a month or £150 in a year.
To keep in touch or for more information:
- sign up for news about our events, awards and other activities
- or contact us either by emailing info@sandfordawards.org.uk or calling 07749875477.
My generation grew up thinking that religion was completely marginal to British life, which, as for the rest of the world, has been proved more and more wrong.
If diversity is to mean anything, it must mean more than differences in ethnicity or personal tastes. True diversity also means paying attention to religion.
Sadly distortions of religious beliefs and texts are used as political weapons in many conflicts as well as clashes over traditional beliefs and practices. That requires us to now more about the tenets of major religions and systems of belief, to be able to assess and analyse different interpretations.
When young people engage with questions like immigration, sexuality and their own mortality and morality, they’re not puzzling over intellectual questions, they’re building their own identities – and in doing so they’re building the future identity of this nation.
Religion sounds boring to some and contentious to others. But what it is to me is a wonderful source of stories about what it is to be human and a huge part of many people’s lives.
These awards have a tremendous reputation. I think they matter all the more in today’s climate, because we need space where serious ideas can be reflected and discussed.