A Question of Faith

12 students, made up of Christians, Muslims and

non-believers, go on a journey to explore some big questions of faith.

In a series of five short films, they ask:

Can God heal today?

Come. You need healing tonight.

Why do innocent children suffer?

Is marriage outdated?

Where does religion stand when it comes to homosexuality?

And what happens when we die?

You may have heard someone exclaim that something was

a revelation to them, meaning they found out something

surprising or they've had a sudden moment of clarity.

But in religion, revelation refers to the way God speaks to

mankind and reveals the truth of that religion to them.

Some also believe that God can directly connect with us

to guide us or even heal us.

So how does God reveal himself to us?

Well, sacred texts, such as the Bible and Koran

are all thought to be revelations from God.

Muslims believe that the Koran was verbally revealed from God to

Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel.

For Christians, Jesus is God revealed in human form.

But can we experience God today,

or are such experiences all in the mind?

We've gathered together a group of young people with different

beliefs to go on a journey to find out more about revelation

and what it means to Christians, Muslims and non-believers.

I'm Morgan. I'm a first-year student at the University of Leeds.

I grew up in a Christian family.

When I was around 16, I started to question religion a lot.

There were just too many things that didn't add up and that made me

lose my faith.

I call myself a utilitarian, which means that

I believe everybody has the right to do what makes them happy.

I'm Rachel and I'm a student at Lancaster University.

These earrings are probably more of a fashion statement than

a religious statement.

I believe in God but that doesn't stop me from making my own decisions.

I get upset when people don't respect each other's views.

I do feel that there's a place for God in my life

because I like to feel loved and supported.

My name is Fayaz.

I am 18 years old and I'm from Batley, West Yorkshire.

I'm a Muslim. I pray five times a day.

I try to do everything according to how our Prophet did.

The Koran is the most important revelation to me but, as a Muslim,

it is very important for me to see what other faiths say as well.

Morgan, Rachel and Fayaz are getting a first-hand experience

of what revelation means.

They're visiting the New Life Christian Centre.

It's a Pentecostal church where people come to ask God to heal them.

I've never ever been to a church before,

so I don't know what I'm expecting.

I think it's going to be quite in my face, quite loud,

quite happy-clappy.

I'm expecting a lot of music.

There's always a lot of music, from my experience.

Leading the worship is Pastor Jarrod Cooper.

It's the kind of place where

there's an expectation that it isn't

just the offering of a religion to God

but rather, God's here. We can interact with him in some way.

There's also a passionate belief that God is alive and well

and therefore answers prayer and heals people,

and might even speak to people today.

Right, everybody, come on, let's worship and pray.

Many of the worshippers have

travelled from across the region to experience God's healing power.

In Jesus' name, we rebuke this back pain.

I command it to be removed now, in Jesus' name.

Look at me. Move now. Has it gone?

Just be totally honest with me, has it gone or is it the same?

A little bit better? A little bit worse? A little bit better. Let's pray again.

Where are you in pain, Naomi?

Intermittently, all over.

OK, all right. So let the spirit of God come on you.

I command that to stop in Jesus' name.

Let the spirit of God come on you.

Let the spirit of God...

Let the spirit of God come on you. In Jesus' name...

A few years ago, Sandra came to pray for healing,

after having a fall at work which left her barely able to walk.

They discovered that in the fall I had broken and dislocated

the coccyx and caused some crush injury to the

base of the spine and had dislocated my sacroiliac joint.

So this was the reason that I was in so much distress.

Sandra had an operation which enabled her to walk,

but she was still in chronic pain.

Raise your life up to Him tonight.

Even as we start this night of prayer...

And then, one Sunday, she came to a healing service.

So I went forward for prayer and, as Jarrod laid hands on me,

I went over in the spirit and I was aware of this heat

and power in my body, and just that the power of God was actually

being revealed there and then.

And when I got up,

I kind of moved and I thought, "I can't feel any pain.

"I feel no pain at all."

And I can genuinely say that since then it's remained pain free.

What would you say to somebody who said it was entirely all

the doctors' help that you got

and all the medicine that you received, as opposed to God's work?

I'd have to say that doesn't make sense, because I think this

sudden transformation that I had from being in so much pain still -

it wasn't, to me, explicable or explainable by normal means.

In Jesus' name right now, I command that pain to leave,

leave in the name of Jesus.

So I agree with you, it's surreal.

And I would be cynical if I didn't know these people before

and afterwards.

But I'm looking at someone who was in a wheelchair and now walking.

And you kind of just go, "Well, there is a God."

Can anybody heal somebody, or is it just like the select few?

The basic belief is that anybody can pray for anybody.

Someone who doesn't even know God but says, "Jesus, will you heal me?"

God's God - he's not just listening to Christians,

he listening to anyone who calls out to him.

Why do you think some people come here to be healed,

but then they don't receive the healing?

My first question when I meet God face-to-face

when I die will be, "Why that one?

"Why not that one?"

And that's one of the big, mysterious and difficult questions.

I want you to come and join me here at the front

if you need healing and you...

Janice suffered a brain tumour in 2000.

She's often in pain and has difficulty walking but so far,

her prayers haven't been answered.

Do you think it's made you lose your faith at all, or doubt God at times?

No, it's never made me doubt God at all.

But sometimes, I suppose,

I lose confidence that the healing will actually come about.

But not my faith in God itself.

I believe that life is a test,

so do you think that the condition that you have is a test from God?

I think it may well be and it may be a test of my faith in him.

It may be a test of how much I'm willing to persevere, how much

I'm willing to just keep believing and pressing on and keep asking.

-Yeah.

-Remember, the Christian worldview is this -

for a Christian to be healed is fabulous.

But even when a Christian dies, they go to heaven, so we still say,

in one sense, even though we're missing them, it's still fabulous.

So we would say they are healed.

I think whether you believe in God or you don't believe in God,

it's hard to deny there's definitely something in the atmosphere.

Yes. The whole experience is really affecting them. Did you believe what was going on?

-No, no! I did not believe it at all.

-No.

Well, that's what Morgan, Rachel and Fayaz made of it.

But what do the rest of our group think?

That was a very powerful experience there but Fayaz,

you weren't convinced, were you?

No, I wasn't convinced at all.

The Pastor - he was kind of associating himself

and kind of playing alongside God.

Only Allah is the one that gives sickness

and only Allah is the one that can cure the sickness.

The whole service, to me, was just completely ridiculous.

Sarah, what do you think about it?

Do you the woman's been healed?

I do think that the woman was healed.

There are loads of stories in the Bible

about tonnes of people that Jesus healed when he was on Earth

and I think he can still do that today.

And I think he can do it through people, through the power of prayer.

What do you think actually happened?

I do think she was healed.

I don't necessarily think that it was God that did it because,

obviously, I don't believe in God.

But you know, maybe it could be something to do with the mind.

Very strange things can happen.

You can't always find an explanation for them there and then.

If I was in pain for so long and then this happened to me, then

I'd sort of think, well, what's more likely - that the laws of physics

and nature have been suspended in my favour or it's a coincidence?

I think it's completely possible for God to do miracles

and to heal people, but I think the problem with these kinds of services

is that they're very, kind of, emotionally fuelled.

And when that, kind of, euphoria,

kind of, takes over people,

it's more of a show rather then glorifying God.

I could get sort of an overwhelming feeling inside of me,

you know, with like, lights and, you know, the music or something...

If I went to see David Bowie or something, I'd just be like...

Ooh! You know, I think I'd be having like a religious experience.

I'm not going to a concert with you!

So for Christians, what is revelation?

I think it could be split into two.

So maybe general revelation and special revelation.

So I'd say general revelation is the creation all around us.

That's something everybody can see. You know creation is beautiful.

That's one way of God revealing himself.

And then special revelation would be things like the Bible,

miracles, healing.

And then, finally, Jesus Christ as like the final, perfect,

full revelation of God in human form

and that's how we know his characteristics.

In Islam, we believe that God does not physically reveal himself

to mankind.

We believe that the Koran is a form of revelation.

When we read the Koran there is a direct contact

between a human with God.

There's a big difference between revelation and inspiration.

In Islam, revelation is only of one type,

where God reveals himself through an angel to a Prophet.

And inspiration is something completely different,

where, you know, you may feel something or you may have a dream.

Revelation is always infallible, whereas inspiration may be fallible.

I feel like God communicates with me.

Why do you think that people, such as myself, who...

I mean, I'm not... I'm not crazy.

I mean, why do you think it's such a real thing to me?

But is it any more real than a person

hearing voices? That's real to them as well.

Rachel, do you think God can reveal himself in human minds?

Erm, I don't think I would necessarily hear him speak to me.

But I think if I was making a big decision,

I would feel a sway towards a certain way.

Then how do you know if it's God speaking or what you want for yourself?

Well, because I feel that God would tell me

what is the best route to take.

I don't think I would know myself what the best route to take.

Interesting comments there. So, does God heal?

Would you call it inspiration or revelation? What do you think?

One of the most common questions people struggle with

when studying religion is, if there is a God and he's a kind,

benevolent God, then why does he allow innocent people to suffer?

It's a difficult concept for us to come to terms with,

especially when we see children suffering.

When natural disasters such as earthquakes,

floods and typhoons hit a country, they kill thousands.

Those who are left often find themselves homeless,

having lost everything.

The pain and suffering they cause lead many people to ask,

"Where is God in all this?"

Everything is destroyed!

For an atheist, it's simple.

Suffering is something that just happens.

But how do people of faith reconcile a benevolent creator with tragic events?

We've gathered a group of young people together.

Some are Muslim, some are Christian and some have no faith at all.

We sent three of them off to find out more about how we cope

with pain and suffering.

I'm Andrew. I'm a third year medical student at Leeds University.

The more I learn about the human body,

the more I feel that there just has to be a God behind it.

As humans, we think we have the right to understand everything.

But, as a Christian, I think sometimes we have to just stand back and trust that it's in God's hands.

Hi, I'm Jade. I'm 23 and I'm studying philosophy, ethics

and religion at Leeds University.

I don't believe in God. I think it's really important for everybody to understand

different religions, so we can all get along.

However, I don't think I need religion to teach me

how to be a good person.

If there was a God, I don't believe that he would let certain types

of suffering happen, especially the suffering of children.

My name is Fayaz.

I am 18 years old and I'm from Batley, West Yorkshire.

I'm a Muslim. I pray five times a day.

I try to do everything according to how our Prophet did.

My little brother, his name's Ayub, and he has Down's syndrome

and he just absolutely loves the Koran.

And ever since he's been born, he's been a blessing.

Aw, ye-e-es!

Jade, Andrew and Fayaz have come to Kinross in Scotland to visit

a children's hospice called Rachel House.

It's probably the first time I've been around such ill children.

It's going to be difficult maybe not to cry.

Yeah, I think it will be quite difficult

and there will be challenging questions to ask ourselves.

Once inside, they couldn't be more wrong.

Oooh! And we do lots of things like that, lots of movement.

The Clowndoctors have arrived,

prescribing a dose of laughter for everyone.

Doctor D!

I'm sorry, Doctor Spritely, I'm sorry!

She really enjoys playing.

Oh, she does. She wakes up smiling every day and she's just a happy little girl,

despite everything.

Rachel House is a place where children who need constant

medical care can come for a break.

We try to give them as much happiness as possible

and to make their life as full as possible,

so that they reach as much as they can of their potential.

Are you going to say hello?

The Reverend Marion Keston is the chaplain here and,

although the hospice isn't affiliated to any particular faith,

she is often the person parents turn to

if they have to face the end of their child's life.

"How dare I believe in God?" some of them will say.

"How can God allow this to happen in the world?"

Why do you think that God allows suffering in the world?

I do believe that suffering is part of living

and I don't think we can live without having suffering.

Suffering helps us to grow and to develop.

I think it keeps us

aware of the reality of the love that's around us.

So I don't think God ever wants us to suffer.

For me, I find it so challenging to think, why should a child suffer?

A child, probably in a way, suffers less than an adult.

If you have that love from home, then I think a child accepts

and lives as much as they can.

The multi-sensory room is somewhere everyone wants to play in.

We have different equipment within the room that stimulates the senses.

How old's Sophie?

Sophie's just had her first birthday.

-Are you ticklish?

-Yeah, she's got tickly knees.

Hi. I'm Caroline.

-Hi.

-I'm Jade.

Caroline usually visits the hospice with her young daughter.

Unfortunately, Isla needs hospital treatment today.

She has Edward's syndrome,

a chromosomal condition which means she has complex medical needs.

It affects her cognitive development,

it affects her physical development but she's a cheeky wee thing, so...

So has the situation with Isla shaken your Christian faith at all?

Not really, no. I don't think it's a bad thing.

I don't think I'm being punished by God.

On the contrary, I think I'm actually blessed by God.

Do you make the best of what you've been presented with?

Or do you sit about and mope and say, "Why me? Why me?"

So, no, my faith wasn't really shaken at all.

It's probably been strengthened because I'm relying on it a little bit more.

Do you think having Isla is a test from God?

I think I got what I asked for.

You know, I asked to be a mum and I got to be a mum.

Maybe he is testing me.

Maybe he's seeing what I can deal with.

-Hi, Craig.

-Hi.

-Hi, Craig.

-Hi, Craig.

Hello, Craig.

So in the midst of all the difficulty

and challenges that a lot of these families face,

do you see the good that God works in their lives?

Yes, I think it pours from them!

I think there's almost a sense that they realise that life is

important and I think they live their lives then more to the full

than many people.

So what sort of effect do you think Isla has on other people around her?

I think she does bring people together,

but she also does bring out something special in people as well.

Our children are just so blessed and they give us blessing.

In many ways, our life is graced by these children.

So can good come out of suffering,

or is it incompatible with a loving God?

Our group have plenty to say on the subject.

We're going to start off by going to Fayaz.

What did you think about your experience?

It just completely moved me and, at a personal level,

I have a little brother who has Down's syndrome.

So we, as individuals, perceive that as a child that is suffering.

But when you see the child, he's happy and it makes us

realise what life is about.

Jade, was there anything that surprised you?

I thought it would be quite depressing,

quite emotional.

But it was actually like a really uplifting experience for me.

A question that I didn't really feel was answered was why do we need,

you know, earthquakes and mass terrible disasters and, like,

innocent people suffering?

As a Christian, when natural disasters do happen we have to

also acknowledge the fact that we're all going to die by some means.

So the important thing for Christians is not so much focusing

on how we come to an end but how we live our lives up to that point.

The Koran teaches us, you know,

God has created life and death as a test for us.

Even if you feel pain that's equivalent to the

prick of a thorn, you're losing sins for that.

So if you think about it like that, the more you are suffering,

the more sins you are losing

and the greater your reward is going to be in the hereafter.

I can sense why the atheists believe why suffering is bad,

but that's primarily because they don't believe in the afterlife.

There's a pretty good example of it during the Second World War.

There was found, carved into the wall of a concentration

camp by a Jewish inmate:

"If God does exist, then he's going to have to beg for my forgiveness."

That kind of sums it up, because that's an incredible amount of suffering.

Why would people so easily forgive him if he even did exist?

The Bible talks a lot about

how suffering teaches us things.

It teaches us endurance and perseverance

and there's scriptures about how sometimes we go through things

so that we're able to overcome them and comfort other people who are going through the same things.

Yeah, it strengthens us. It builds our character.

It builds perseverance.

What do you thing about that, Harry?

I can't grasp why a God who is all-loving and loves all his creations

would want to impose suffering on anybody.

God doesn't inflict all of the suffering that people go through.

Some suffering is man-made through the decisions that we make.

And because God loves us, he gives us the free choice to make those

decisions and we have to deal with the consequences of those decisions.

At the start of creation, Adam and Eve were given free will

and this all comes into the Fall, of bringing evil into humanity.

That's why we're all born with Original Sin.

It's not anything that WE'VE done, it's a consequence of what Adam

did at the very start of creation and that's through free will.

The whole idea of Original Sin is just... I find it disgusting.

It's the idea that you are born sick

and then commanded to be well again through no fault of your own.

Well, in Islam, we don't believe

that anybody's born with Original Sin -

everybody's born with a fresh, new start.

There's no sins. It's throughout life, throughout the course of life,

that sins come about.

Does anyone have any personal experiences where suffering

has either brought them closer to God or drawn them away from God?

My mum was quite ill when I was younger.

I can remember asking, like, "You know, you're a good person, Mum.

"Why would God let this happen to you if he was real?"

I think this is when I, sort of, became an atheist.

I've grown-up with a very ill mother

and I've seen her go through a lot and that's not only been

a test for her but for me and my dad, personally.

I can honestly say that there have been times where I do think,

like, "Why me?" or "Why all these tests?"

But, at the end of the day, it makes me closer to God.

We've had some fantastic comments here and thank you

all very much for sharing your personal experiences as well.

There's one thing that most religions agree on

and that's marriage between a man and a woman is a good thing -

it's an ideal to be encouraged.

These days you can marry almost anywhere, even underwater.

There are over 250,000 weddings every year in the UK.

For non-believers,

it's a celebration of two people getting legally hitched.

But for people of faith, God remains an important element

when it comes to tying the knot.

We've gathered 12 young people from different faith backgrounds

and we've sent three of them to a Pakistani Muslim

wedding to find out what marriage means in Islam.

My name is Ammar. I've just turned 18.

I'm currently studying my A-levels. I really love family life.

My mum and dad had an arranged marriage

and they really love each other and are very happy together.

I hope to get married.

Whether I meet that person by myself or they're introduced to me

by parents is not an issue for me.

I'm Morgan. I'm a first-year student at the University of Leeds.

I grew up in a Christian family.

When I was around 16, I started to question religion a lot.

There were just too many things that didn't add up and that made me lose my faith.

I call myself a utilitarian, which means that

I believe everybody has the right to do what makes them happy.

I'm Stuart. I'm 19.

I'm studying religious studies at Lancaster University.

In the future, I hope to train for the Catholic priesthood.

It will be a fantastic opportunity to serve people.

Although I won't be able to get married as a priest,

my family will be the wider Catholic community.

It's the morning of the wedding and Ammar, Morgan and Stuart have

come to the bride's family home in Manchester, where proceedings begin.

-That looks like number 29. I think this is the right house.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

What do you guys know about a Muslim wedding?

I don't really know that much.

Absolutely nothing.

I've never been to a Muslim wedding, so we'll see what happens.

Here, the bride will sign the marriage contract called the "nikah".

The bride and groom, Mahvish and Anwar,

have opted for a traditional ceremony where they sign

the nikah separately, so neither the groom nor his family are here.

This is to make sure the bride feels no pressure

and enters the marriage freely.

The holy man, known as the imam, conducts the signing.

He makes certain Mahvish understands what she's agreeing to

and is happy to marry Anwar.

HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

Once she's signed the contract,

there are prayers to ask for Allah's blessing.

Whilst the bride stays at home, the men head off to the mosque,

where the groom is waiting.

-Morgan, you need to go in that way, because that's the ladies' entrance.

-Oh, so I've got to go that way, then?

-Yeah, yeah.

-I'll see you later, I guess.

Morgan heads upstairs to the ladies' section.

Women and men don't pray together in the mosque,

because it's thought it would be distracting for the men.

So Morgan watches from above.

You've got, literally, a big wall between you and the actual ceremony.

Yet the men were at the women's signing

but the women aren't literally at the men's signing.

We're kind of just watching from afar.

Mahvish's imam is acting on her behalf.

He gives permission for the marriage to proceed.

Then it's the groom's turn.

Once he signs, the couple are officially married, according to Islam.

I found it a little bit sexist, cos I did think, you know, if that was

my brother, my son, or a male in my family, I'd want to be part of it.

But yet to be in a separate room, it made me feel very different.

The reason for that is because it was in a mosque

and in a mosque you do need to be separate.

I mean, I've been to other weddings where the bride has been asked

and then the groom has been asked and then they're together when they were asked.

So it's all about, you know, personal preference.

It's the way the family want it done.

It's the way the bride and groom want it done.

How the imam was praying, what was,

sort of, in the context of the prayers?

He was just stressing how important marriage is

and he was just talking about how, you know,

the best person is the one who treats his wife the best.

I think the beauty of it is, when someone's getting married in Islam,

it's as if the whole community all share in that happiness

and feel as though it was their own son or daughter getting married.

At the wedding party, 500 guests have come to celebrate.

But the bride and groom haven't met yet as husband and wife.

The couple arrive separately.

The drums herald the arrival of the groom,

before he takes his place to anxiously await his bride.

Mahvish arrives and is whisked away to prepare for her big entrance.

You look really nice.

Oh, thank you. Today's not just a party.

It's got a greater significance.

Obviously, I'm completing half of my iman, my faith.

Islam promotes getting married, so it is a very special day for me.

The brothers of the bride

and groom explain more about the significance of marriage in Islam.

It's the way of our Prophet, peace be upon him, and also it's

to pass on your family, so your family lineage continues.

And it brings families together, so it unites people.

So do you have to get married in Islam?

It's stressed upon and it's encouraged and it's the way of our Prophet, peace be upon him.

But if you're saying, "Do you have to do this before you die?"

No, you don't have to do it before you die.

Mahvish and Anwar have now been married for four hours,

but still haven't met.

And now they must wait whilst the imam reminds

the guests about the relationship between a husband and wife.

And the three beautiful ingredients Allah mentions, that he

would like to see - tranquillity, love and mercy.

So when you go back there this evening, would that be

-the first time you've seen your husband since you've gotten married?

-Yeah, that's right.

-How do you think that will feel? Cos I know it's...

-Nervous!

-..it's going to be different.

-You've just got married...

-Yeah, it will be different, yeah!

Coming together as man and wife in front of everybody on that stage.

I think it's a very special moment.

At last, the big moment arrives.

Mahvish and Anwar are together as husband and wife.

Their two families are now united and the couple look forward

to spending the rest of their lives together.

There may be many different ways to get hitched in Britain today.

But will believing in God make a difference to a marriage? What do our group think?

Well, that looked like a fantastic wedding.

Ammar, is that a typical Pakistani Muslim wedding?

Yeah, I would say it is.

I mean, obviously, there were elements of culture in there.

Obviously, the religious event is

when you're actually signing the nikah.

So, yeah, I would say that's a typical Asian-Pakistani wedding.

Now, Imani, for some people who are watching,

they might find it a little bit strange about the segregation.

Would you have a segregated wedding when you get married?

-Hmm? I've never really thought about it but...

-Are you sure?

Well, I've planned the whole wedding! Just don't have the guy.

Erm, I think the nikah I would have separate but at my own house.

I think the guy should be sat in a different room and I'll be sat

in a different room and then we'll come together for the actual party.

Stuart, what does marriage mean to the Catholic Church?

Marriage is a sacrament,

so a sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace.

It's the joining together of man and wife as one.

So, as a Christian, it's really important that you have to get married in a church?

Yeah, the church is the holy place and any sacrament in the church

is performed in the church and nowhere else.

And is that the same for Islam?

Er, marriage can take place anywhere.

This roots from the idea that God is all-seeing.

He's present in every place that you go.

But what is wrong with just living together?

I think, obviously, you should be careful

of how many partners you have and I don't think

you should take those relationships too lightly before you're married.

But I don't think it's wrong to go out with a couple of different

people and, you know, try before you buy, erm...

-Andrew, you're a good-looking lad...

-Oh, thanks!

-I'm always here to compliment. Do you think it will just be...

-You, too!

Do you think it will be just you and one woman?

Personally, I'm looking forward to just committing to that one person.

I don't really feel a need to, kind of, have multiple partners.

I think that it loses its...the genuineness

and the uniqueness of the relationship.

So Christians and Muslims believe that God gives sex as a wedding present, in a way?

Yeah, it's like a gift that God has given

and he's specifically designed it for marriage.

So in Genesis he talks about how two become one.

So, as well as having spiritual meaning, it makes sense in the physical.

Like you don't want to be sleeping around cos there's

the risk of STDs and having children all over the shop.

It makes sense for sex to be within marriage and it's sacred and it's a gift.

When it's outside of marriage, it can lose its beauty and its value.

I don't necessarily think it's...important to be married,

erm, but for me it's about the values, like faithfulness

and being supportive.

People who... I think people take it too lightly these days.

But isn't that what marriage does? It makes you take those vows seriously.

The danger when you're not under the institution of marriage is

that you leave that person and you go

and start a relationship with someone else.

And, for a Christian, doing that is like splitting your spirit

between two or three, four, whatever, amount of people.

You know, sometimes relationships don't work.

From the Muslim point of view, what do you think about divorce?

These days people don't work hard

enough on the relationship that they want to develop.

If one thing goes wrong, they tend to think divorce is the easy

route out because they can't deal with a certain situation.

The Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam,

said the lawful act that Allah hates the most is divorce.

So that just signifies the importance of marriage,

but in Islam divorce is permissible.

I think this whole idea of frowning on divorce from any faith

perspective can be really dangerous.

There's so many men and women that are trapped in, erm,

horrible...horrible marriages that are scared to get divorces

and they'll keep on going through marital abuse

and things like this, because they're so scared from...culturally

and a faith-based perspective - erm, what people will think of them,

what God's going to think of them.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,

was actually married to a woman who was divorced.

I think that was quite relevant at a time when they used to think that

women who are divorced shouldn't be respected like other women are.

I think the Prophet, as a sign of respect, actually married a divorced woman.

Thank you all very much for your comments.

So what do you think?

Will one lover last you a lifetime,

or will your partnership be made stronger with or without God?

One subject that's guaranteed to cause controversy amongst people

of faith is sexual relationships and, particularly, homosexuality.

Many Christians and Muslims take parts of the Bible and Koran

as evidence that sex between two men or two women goes against God's law.

Others take a more liberal reading of these texts but,

for generations, it's been a testy topic.

For decades, people have campaigned for gay rights.

Before 1967, homosexuality was a crime.

Almost half a century later,

Parliament passed a law to allow gay people to marry.

However, the Church of England

and Church of Wales are exempt from performing same-sex marriages.

Even though the law recognises the rights of homosexuals,

some religions still struggle to accept same-sex relationships.

We've gathered 12 students together with different

perspectives on the subject and sent three of them to find out more.

I'm Imani. I'm 20 and I'm studying pharmacy.

This is my parents' shop. The shop is named after me.

In Arabic "imani" means faith.

Islam was something that was instilled in me

from a very young age but it's also something that I feel within myself.

In Islam, it is wrong to be homosexual,

but I, personally, am not homophobic.

I'm Stuart. I'm 19.

I'm studying religious studies at Lancaster University.

In the future, I hope to train for the Catholic priesthood.

It will be a fantastic opportunity to serve people.

As a priest, I'll have to live a celibate life.

It is a sacrifice

but something that I'm prepared to do for the service of God.

My name's Harry. I'm 19 years old and I'm studying theology

and religious studies at the University of Leeds.

I love making music and writing songs

and doing gigs in my spare time.

I'd describe myself as an agnostic but I do think there is some

sort of spiritual thing, I'm just not really sure what that is.

I would say that the rules and regulations of some religions

is what makes them not very accessible to me.

Imani, Harry and Stuart have come to London, where the

Metropolitan Community Church meets every Sunday.

They hold services especially for people who are lesbian, gay,

bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, for short.

They're here to take part in a religious service with a difference.

This is the first time I've been to a church.

I don't know what to expect but I think it will be quite interesting.

Yeah, and being part of the gay community, this is something that I've never been to before.

As a Catholic, this is going be something completely

different to what I'm used to as well.

-Shall we go inside?

-Yes.

The denomination was set up in America about 40 years ago

to provide a place of worship for anyone who feels

excluded from their own churches.

Good evening, everybody,

and welcome to Metropolitan Community Church of North London.

It's wonderful to see all your beautiful faces here tonight.

The Reverend Sharon Ferguson has led the congregation since 2008.

My belief is that there is nothing in the Bible that says

that it is wrong for two people of the same gender to love one another.

In my heart of hearts,

I believe that God made each

and every one of us and we're all beloved children of God

and that God is...is bigger than...than all of this.

And God is not hung up about sexuality.

And in the same way as God made more than two types of tree,

I believe God made more than two types of sexuality as well.

God is very creative.

The church is a safe haven for some members of the congregation.

Marie and Mable had to flee Uganda

because they were persecuted for being gay.

Hear, O God, when I cry aloud. Be gracious to me...

There, homosexuality is illegal and can mean life imprisonment.

While I was in school I was dating my girlfriend.

They found us, so I was expelled and I was taken to prison.

I faced a lot of torture while I was in prison

and I managed to get out of there.

My life in Uganda was typically finished.

You cannot get a job anywhere.

Even when you go to the clinics and you're a lesbian, oh boy, you can't get treatment.

And if you're caught being gay, you don't have a

chance to be taken to the police station.

Normal people, the public, are going to deal with you.

-They either burn you with tyres...

-Yes.

Or they're going to pour hot water on you, anything.

The public can use sticks.

By the time the police come, you're dead.

In Uganda, the aggressive homophobia even extended into the churches.

Pleased to meet you.

When you go to churches and they're telling you, "You're being gay.

"You're trying to be a devil and your destiny is in hell."

Well, I stopped going to church.

And then when I got here, somebody told me about the LGBT church.

I thought it was a joke.

They told me, no matter who you are, God still loves you.

This is what I'm trying to do - is reconcile who am I with religion.

LGBT church has helped me.

God wants you to be yourself and be yourself in a Christ-like,

loving, God-honouring way.

If you are gay, God asked you to be a gay person who is faithful

and honest and trustworthy in your relationships

and have relationships that reflect God's love.

Not every church thinks the same and some consider homosexuality a sin.

The Catholic Church has teachings known as catechisms.

The catechism says that homosexuals should be treated with respect,

compassion and dignity, and all unjust

discrimination in their regard should be avoided, and that gay,

lesbian and transgendered people are called to remain celibate.

Do you think that's a fair position to stand at?

Not the current Pope, but the Pope beforehand,

actually said that we were all morally disordered.

How accepted and respected would you feel

if you were told that you are disordered?

That doesn't smack to me very much of acceptance and love and respect.

The Catholic Church is saying,

"If you're not heterosexual, then you've got to be celibate."

Human beings are not made to be celibate

and therefore to impose celibacy onto people against their will,

again, I don't believe is a loving thing to do.

In Islam, we believe that God created man

and woman in order to procreate.

That's not possible if a man and a man are together, or a woman

and a woman are together.

Do you not think that goes against the laws of nature?

My understanding is that God didn't actually create human beings to procreate.

God created human beings to love.

So I feel it's trying to force something on God that

actually isn't there.

So is homosexuality just two people who love each other, or is it

a sin against God?

Harry, Stuart and Imani are back

from the Metropolitan Community Church in London.

And I'm immediately going to go to you, Stuart,

because you felt quite uncomfortable in that service, didn't you?

Yeah, it was something that is completely different to what

I'm used to, being a Catholic.

What was being said was what suited, not what should be heard or

what God wants but what the people there wanted to hear.

And, Harry, is it good that there's a special congregation for gay and lesbian people?

It seemed to provide them with some form of safe haven really

where they could practise their faith

in a situation where they were comfortable with it.

So I think, yeah, it is a good thing for them.

We saw two Ugandan lesbians fleeing from their country

because of the persecution of their sexuality. What did you think of that?

I thought the fact that they were being persecuted, in this day

and age, is quite barbaric,

because I think it's a personal choice that you make.

I mean, I, personally, don't believe that it's right to be that

way inclined, to be gay or lesbian, transgender or bisexual.

So it's OK to be gay, but you can't practise it?

Islam accepts that people can be gay but only if you act upon

those desires and that feeling, does it become a sin.

I think if a person is attracted to someone of the same sex,

that is a test from God for that person.

They're getting rewarded for that, for holding back their desire,

because they love God.

Very much similar to what Imani said,

the Church doesn't teach that homosexuality in itself is wrong.

It's acting upon the homosexual desires that are wrong.

Rachel, do you believe homosexuality is a sin?

Erm, no. I don't think I do.

I think they should be able to love who they want to love.

Homosexuality is wrong and it is a sin.

It is according to the Bible. I mean, that's what St Paul teaches us in his Epistles.

But just saying that homosexuality is wrong doesn't mean I should

discriminate or segregate people who are practising homosexuality.

I sin, I just sin in other ways.

There's a book of Leviticus in the Old Testament

that prohibits homosexuality.

By the way, it says it's an abomination

and should be punished by stoning to death.

It also says that eating shellfish is an abomination

and should be punished in the same way.

I just want to ask this question, would God or Allah create people

who were gay if he didn't think that was the right way to live?

I don't think God creates anyone homosexual or not.

I think it's kind of a build-up of environmental factors or

the way they were brought up.

People have all manners of sexual perversions.

-They can either act on that or not.

-I don't believe that it is a choice.

I believe that you're born...that's the way that you're born.

And I completely understand that quite a lot of you won't mean to cause, like, to cause upset,

but to hear words like perversion mixed in with that is

something that is so dangerous on vulnerable young people.

Quite a lot of religions preach love and peace.

To me, that's just another contradiction.

Has anyone here, in their own experience

and personal experience, being around gays and lesbians,

changed their own personal, moral views?

Before starting college,

I didn't really interact with people who were gay.

But once I started college, you know,

they are quite a few people who are gay.

And, you know, just talking with them,

they're just normal human beings.

You treat them with respect, you treat them with dignity,

as you would any other human being.

What my main thought about it is, is that it's too big an issue.

I think we've escalated it into something huge that it doesn't need to be.

I think it's like it comes in the same category as things

like sex before marriage and sexual immorality, just in general.

I don't think homosexuality should be isolated.

Thank you all for your comments.

So if God loves everyone, why do religions seem

so anti-gay sometimes?

Should they change? What's your view?

Everybody knows we're all going to die,

but what happens after death is a subject of great debate.

Most religious people believe in an afterlife.

For them, it's a real comfort to know that one day they'll be

reunited with their loved ones.

Christians believe that to get to heaven you need to accept

Jesus as your saviour.

For Muslims, too, faith is important but whether you go to

paradise or hell also depends on how Allah judges you've lived your life.

Most non-believers are sure that when we die, that's it, the end.

We've gathered a group of young people together

and sent three of them off to find out how people who don't

believe in an afterlife deal with death.

I'm Amina. I'm 18 years old and I'm looking to do law at university.

I've always loved being a Muslim, but it only became

part of my identity when I was about 15 years of age.

My certainty that there is a life after death gives me hope.

Islam is not simply about belief. It's a complete way of life.

I'm David.

I'm 19 and I study physics with astrophysics at the University of Leeds.

I consider myself to be an anti-theist,

which means I think that all religions are man-made.

I think it's really important to search for the truth.

Religion was our first attempt at explaining the universe,

but now science offers much better explanations.

As long as people are scared of death,

they're going to want to believe in an afterlife.

I'm Sarah. I'm 21 and I'm studying French

and international relations at the University of Warwick.

I made a personal commitment to being a Christian when I was 14.

I believe there is an afterlife. I believe in heaven and hell.

It brings me joy and hope to know that

I can look forward to an eternity with God.

Amina, Sarah and David have come to Golders Green crematorium in London

to attend the non-religious funeral of a man called Bryan Butler.

A ceremony without God is a thought-provoking prospect.

Today will be a really good experience for me, cos I've actually never been to a funeral.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see, cos the funeral I've been

to before was sort of God-centred.

Well, in Islam, we believe that the human body is a gift from God

and, just like it was received from God, it should be returned the way it was.

So, basically, we bury the body when it's dead.

In Christian tradition, you can either have a burial or

a cremation but I guess the main focus is what happens after you die.

Bryan's family wanted his last journey to be special.

He was an aviation enthusiast,

so his custom coffin flies in to the sound of Lancaster bombers.

The funeral is conducted by Jill Satin, a humanist celebrant.

Bryan was an atheist

and it was his wish that his funeral be a humanist celebration of life

to reflect Bryan's bond with a human community of which he was a part.

As humanists, we believe we need to make the most of the one life

we have. We are all members of one human community

and a full life is built on caring for ourselves,

for each other and for the world in which we live.

It is through our relationships and our personal achievements

that something of us lives on after our death.

Could you roughly explain what is meant by humanism?

As humanists we believe that we have one life.

It's our responsibility to live in society and caring for people

in our world in a compassionate way, but also being

responsible for our own actions first and then those of others.

Most humanists are atheist and they don't believe in an afterlife.

Today, we will hear some of the stories of his family's life

memories from Bryan and his full and rewarding, exciting life.

My friend Bryan Butler was a cracker of a human being.

For make no mistake, Bryan was a man of deep passion.

Bryan had some wonderful Australian adventures with David

when he came to visit us in Sydney.

Most of these involved the two of them getting lost

in some God-forsaken part of the outback of New South Wales.

No-one was going to tell Bryan Butler why he loved,

where he loved or what he loved.

Working-class heroes... Sorry.

As the ceremony ends, Bryan's coffin goes off to be cremated.

I thought it was a really beautiful ceremony but, obviously,

even though I really appreciated the sentiment and the emotion

and, kind of, learning about the life he lived,

it was...it was sort of weird having that without God

and without there, sort of, being a hope for the afterlife.

Cos I guess I believe that there is no kind of meaning without God in this life.

After the ceremony, our three meet Bryan's daughter and her partner.

The ceremony was actually quite amazing.

It was really emotional and touching.

Erm, is there a specific reason to why you chose a humanist funeral?

My father wasn't a religious man at all. He was an atheist.

He was interested in religious philosophy but he was not

a believer in God or the afterlife, so there was no question.

It would not have been right to have had a religiously based ceremony for him.

I don't want to say that one sort of funeral is better than another

but, for us, it was really about him

and I think we feel very comfortable about that.

So as a Christian, obviously, I believe in the afterlife

and it's something I feel quite certain of.

What would you say is

the reason behind your certainty that there isn't an afterlife?

Lack of evidence. I envy you your certainty.

And I respect that, too, but I don't share it at the moment.

So is there an afterlife or are religious people deluded?

Our students have lots of opinions.

David, what did you think about the ceremony?

The ceremony was really nice, yeah.

If there's no religion in a funeral,

then it's entirely about the deceased and you really felt

like you got to get a bit of a feel for what Bryan was like as a person.

Yeah. I wanted to just start off by asking what you think happens after death.

Sarah, do you want to start?

Yeah, so as a Christian, my belief is that

when you die there is an afterlife and there is an eternity

and if you believe in Jesus, that eternity will be spent with God.

And there are scriptures about it in the New Testament,

where Jesus tells us that he's preparing rooms for us.

Sow it's kind of a hope that we have while we're living in this

Earth that there is something to come, something that's even

better, where they'll be no pain or suffering, or sorrow.

And what about you, Amina? What do Muslims believe?

Erm, in the Koran it mentions that after we die it is

both a physical and a spiritual resurrection.

Two angels, they're named Munkar and Nakir, will come to the dead

and they will ask them three questions.

The first will be, "Who is your Lord?"

The second will be, "What is your religion?" and "Who is your Prophet?"

And if the questions are answered according to the

teachings of the Koran and the Hadiths,

then the person will be guaranteed a place in heaven.

Those who disbelieved in the creator,

or disbelieved in his creation, are guaranteed a place in hell.

OK. Do you ever doubt this?

-No.

-You believe in it 100%?

-Yes, 100%.

So where's he going to go? Where's Bryan going?

Well, I can't say. I'm not God.

Only God can judge, so I can't judge where Bryan's going.

God is all just. He will judge everyone equally, so we'll see on the Day of Judgment.

There's no reason or evidence to believe in an afterlife and,

erm, in my honest opinion, it, sort of...it says a bit about, er,

this God if he only lets people who believe in him come to heaven.

I want to go to Rachel.

Has anything surprised you from what you've heard?

Erm, well, for me personally, I don't believe in a hell,

so listening to the other Christians and Muslims

speaking about an all-loving God sending

somebody to hell is a concept that I wouldn't hold, because I think

that whatever your background is, whatever religion you are or not,

I think that everyone will go to a heaven but it will just

be a different experience for you, depending on what beliefs you hold.

So, Andrew, how do you imagine heaven?

I think, for me, heaven is endless joy, endless peace.

Heaven is a choice and if you decide on Earth not to follow

God, then God's not going to force you to spend eternity with him.

Obviously, as Christians, we believe in heaven and hell.

But I think hell is more a place for those who haven't accepted

God in their lives.

I think the whole idea that if you believe in him,

you'll go to heaven and if you don't believe in him,

you'll go to hell, rather than it being about being a good

moral person or a bad moral person - it makes God sound a bit...

-A bit like a dictator?

-Totalitarian, yeah.

You know, as a Muslim, obviously, belief in God

and faith comes first but, after that, it's all

about your treatment of other people

and how you treat other people.

And I think that's... After faith,

of course, faith needs to come first but after, I think

what will get a person to paradise is his treatment of others.

Harry, not believing in an afterlife, does that make you more fearful?

The thought that there is no afterlife can be quite

a depressing, sad thought,

but then I also think it's important to take into account that it can

also be quite a frightening thought if you are religious as well.

Erm, you've got quite a tortuous idea of hell,

which can be frightening for some,

especially if that's being taught to young children.

So is it that fear, that scary thing you're talking about,

that sort of makes you do good deeds, to make him happy?

It's not something like, "Oh, because I'm scared of God,"

or "Because I'm scared of Allah, that's why I do things."

That is completely wrong.

We Muslims, as individuals, as a collective individual,

we should do stuff out of our good character and good nature.

For me, as a Muslim, I believe that this life

is a preparation for the next.

And whether you believe or not in God or an afterlife,

that's regardless of who you are as a person.

It's your good deeds and your bad deeds that count.

It's who you are in this life.

Obviously, as a Catholic, I believe that before we go into heaven

we do go to purgatory first,

where God judges us on our good deeds and our bad deeds.

And it's a place of purification and from there we go on to heaven.

Thank you all for your comments. They've been really, really interesting

and let's hope we all don't face death too soon.

So when you die, will you be at the pearly gates,

or will you simply be left in a coffin?