Out of the ghetto

Every two years, my hard work on your behalf - the desperate late-night channel-hopping to find something, anything, to write about; the agony endured by my family as I force them to stay absolutely silent, lest their idle chatter obscures the one phrase I must jot down as a quotation; the fevered searching, hunched over the word-processor, for exactly the right phrase as I seek to polish my weekly essay, just when I should be enjoying my day off - is richly rewarded.

This is because every two years I am invited to the Sandford St Martin Trust Religious Television Awards, held in the chapel of Lambeth Palace ( News, 19 May). This year, the atmosphere was palpably different from that on previous occasions. Normally, they have something of a defiant, contra mundum feel to them: "We know that nobody else cares, but we're convinced that what we're celebrating is really important."

Last week's awards felt confident, mainstream, requiring no apology. The winning programmes had sparked general interest, far beyond the religious ghetto, had been noticed and applauded by mainstream critics, and had attracted decent-sized audiences, approaching the lesser entertainment shows.

I see this as a reflection that our society as a whole is far more interested in religion. It realises that no serious understanding of politics and culture, of history or current affairs, is possible unless faith is taken into account. I think that this awareness has been around for a while now, and that the resolutely secularist programmers are about the last section of the populace to be prepared to acknowledge the situation.

These musings were reinforced by the opening prize, given for the first ever Radio Times readers' award for the best religious TV programme. The RT's editor admitted that she had needed some persuading to initiate this innovation - and had been overwhelmed by the response. Tsunami: Where Was God? was Mark Dowd's two-hour exploration of the phenomenon, contrary to all expectation of Richard Dawkins and his like, that the Boxing Day disaster had strengthened, rather than fatally weakened, the faith of most of those from all religions who had been most nearly affected.

Channel 4 had displayed splendid programming courage - for which it deserved a special award - in broadcasting this on the evening of Christmas Day. Enough people had watched it to give it the prize. BBC programmers please note.

This programme also shared the jury's merit award with The Monastery (BBC2). The runner-up was Priest Idol (Channel 4) - and both of these showed how religion in Britain can transform lives, bringing meaning and depth where they are least expected.

The first prize went to 7/7: A Test of Faith with Rageh Omaar (ITV). Mr Omaar's sensitive questioning disclosed a wider range of religious response to the outrage: for some, the tragedy undermined their faith. But, for them all, the religious dimension was vitally important, even if it had to be rejected. This was indeed grown-up TV. Can the schedulers learn the lesson, and keep their nerve?