TEACHING CHRISTIANITY
Sut,—Your article on the above subject in the issue of February 12th raises one very interesting point.
Mr. Reynolds says, " Since the institution of the listening unit, useful- ness is judged by counting heads, and Itma wins." One would like to know how much the B.B.C. does, in fact, plan its programmes for the-
relaxation of its listeners, and how much it attempts to use its enormous power eductionally. There is no doubt—though more time is nowadays devoted to good programmes than ever before—that Itma does win ; but this may well be because the B.B.C. realises that, in spite of its power, it is powerless to compel anyone to listen to anything. It may also realise that, as a nation, we hate to feel that education is being forced upon us.
Mr. Reynolds mentions the excellent talks by Professor John MacMurray, but I imagine their excellence was only appreciated by the
comparatively small number of regular listeners who were interested in
his subject. They never reached the masses, let alone instructed them ; and yet I do not believe that it is necessarily an impossibility for the
B.B.C. to educate as well as entertain. The general aversion to, and avoiding of, serious programmes is, I believe, in the main, due to ignor- ance. I have no doubt that if ten minutes of Itma was devoted to first- class music in a very short time vast numbers of people would, to their own surprise, find themselves preferring this part of the programme to the rest and, before long, many of them would be listening regularly to the best concerts. With religion it is not so easy, but I believe that the importance of the subject at this time justifies the greatest possible thought and expense, and I have little doubt that the B.B.C. could devise
some series which would inveigle the masses into listening. A series in which a weekly talk by a famous or leading personality—not previously announced—might well catch on, as has the Brains Trust, and the vast audience which last week listened to a field-marshal on " Strategy," Tommy Handley on " the Sunday Opening of Theatres," or Gordon Richards on " War-time Racing," might this week find itself listening to an Archbishop on "Religion," or a Cabinet Minister on " Post-war Foreign Policy." Almost without realising it, a mass of people, more intelligent than they themselves imagine, would find that serious and thought-provoking programmes can be as entertaining and, indeed, as relaxing, as Irma. When we realise the responsibility that will rest on the shoulders of the masses in the post-war years, I think we must all be in agreement that part of the B.B.C.'s policy should be to educate, and that it should find out as soon as possible the most efficacious method. Teaching experience convinces me that sugaring the pill is an effective, if
not wholly ideal, method.—Yours truly, DORIAN WILLIAMS. Hawtreys, at Llangedwyn Hall, Oswestry:
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