When we think of division in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict normally comes straight to mind. But there’s a new and dangerous tension in Israel – between its own Jewish people. The country now has its most right-wing government for decades, with controversial figures who’ve advocated violence and divisive policies. There’s also a plan to change the judicial system to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a small number of government figures vast control. Its critics say Israel is in danger of becoming a ‘democratic dictatorship’. This political shift is now pitting ordinary Israeli Jews against each other. The ultra-orthodox Haredim and their conservative supporters are at odds with more liberal elements of society. Former Defence Minister Benny Gantz – a powerful figure in the former government – has even raised the spectre of a civil war in Israel, telling the new politicians that they’ll be responsible if a new conflict breaks out. As efforts are made to maintain peace and hold the country together, the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent Yolande Knell meets two rabbis who are odds with one another in the heart of Jerusalem. Surrounded by the religious iconography that should symbolise the links between them, she explores why the two ends of the spectrum now find themselves so far apart. And she tries to persuade them to come together over a meal to find out if there’s any way to bridge the gaping political and theological differences in their thinking. But will they be willing to meet? Presenter: Yolande Knell Producer: Rajeev Gupta Editor: Helen Grady Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

Almost 10 years ago, Peter MacJob’s life changed forever. Born and raised a devout Christian like so many of his fellow Nigerians, he fell out of love with the Church and discovered the traditional Yoruba religion of his ancestors. Other Africans appear to be doing the same thing, both on the continent and throughout the diaspora. But as Peter has found, it is not always easy to convert: Ifá, or Isese, involves effigies, divination, and making offerings to a range of deities, up to and including animal sacrifice. Those not initiated into the faith often see it as superstitious and even sinister. Devotees say that outsiders misunderstand, and complain that Ifá is pejoratively depicted as devil worship. It is perhaps little wonder that after Peter adopted Ifá, he chose not to tell his family about it. But now he has decided it is time to come clean, taking a trip back to Nigeria to confront childhood friends and loved ones, in the hope that they will give their blessing. Presenter: Peter MacJob Producer: Michael Gallagher Strand producer: Rajeev Gupta Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Editor: Helen Grady

Aged four, Mary was playing in her parents’ front yard, when she was grabbed by “the government people” and taken to a Catholic boarding school to be turned into a Christian. She’s just one of thousands of Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and put into boarding schools from the 1800s right up to the 1970s. According to a US government report, the purpose of these schools was to strip indigenous people of their spiritual beliefs, culture and land. A government investigation also found that physical, emotional and sexual abuse was “rampant”. Indigenous Americans’ spiritual beliefs are now experiencing a renaissance, but is this revival enough to enable Mary and her friends heal from a childhood of trauma in America’s residential schools? Presenter: Leana Hosea Producer: Leana Hosea with Rajeev Gupta Production co-ordinator: Nancy Bennie Editor: Helen Grady

When Mubarak Bala posts criticism of Islam on social media, it sparks a landmark legal case and leaves him facing 24 years in jail. Raised in a Muslim family, Mubarak is the son of an Islamic scholar in the religiously conservative Kano state. But in 2014, Mubarak renounces Islam and later becomes president of Nigeria’s Humanist Association, gaining a reputation as an outspoken critic of religion. In 2020, a group of Muslim lawyers call for him to be tried for offences related to blasphemy over social media posts which they say insult the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. With access to Mubarak’s wife and lawyers, the BBC’s Yemisi Adegoke follows his case through the Nigerian court system, finding out what it tells us about freedom of belief in a country where religious tensions run deep. She talks to other Nigerian atheists as they follow Mubarak’s case and wrestle with the challenges of being open about their beliefs in a deeply religious society. Presenter: Yemisi Adegoke Producers: Valeria Cardi and John Offord Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno Editor: Helen Grady (Photo: Mubarak Bala speaking at Kaduna Book and Arts Festival in 2018, still from the film The Cost of Being an Atheist)

In July 2000 Floyd Bledsoe was convicted of the murder of his 14-year-old sister-in-law in the small Kansas town of Oskaloosa. His older brother Tom had originally confessed to the killing, but later changed his story, accusing Floyd of the crime. A committed Christian, Floyd spent the next 15 years fighting his conviction, and wrestling with the Bible’s teaching to forgive those who have done us wrong. Could he forgive Tom for what he had done? Or his parents, who had sided with one son over the other? Mike Wooldridge speaks to Floyd about his ordeal and about his struggle to do the right thing by his faith. Mike also hears from a volunteer prison chaplain who helped Floyd resolve his dilemma, and from a family friend who stuck by Floyd when others in his own church turned their backs on him. Producer: Mike Lanchin A CTVC production for the BBC World Service Archive material courtesy of the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World (Photo: ​Floyd Bledsoe, 2015. Credit: Midwest Innocence Project)