Around the World in 80 Faiths

Around the World in 80 Faiths is a British television series which was first broadcast by the BBC on 2 January 2009. The series was presented by Anglican vicar Pete Owen-Jones, who was researching the various faiths from around the world.[1][2]

Around the World in 80 Faiths
Around the World in 80 Faiths titlecard
GenreReligious, Documentary film, Adventure travel, television program
Directed bySian Salt
Tom Sheahan
Karen Selway
Graham Johnston
Rob Cowling
Kevin Jarvis
Presented byPete Owen-Jones
ComposersJames Atherton
Johnny Clifford
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producerJean Claude Bragard
ProducersSian Salt
Tom Sheahan
Karen Selway
Graham Johnston
Rob Cowling
Kevin Jarvis
Production locationWorldwide
EditorsSteve Stevenson
Ivan Probert
Dave Reynolds
James Marson
Camera setupGraham Veevers
& Self Shot by Directors
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBBC Television
Release
Original networkBBC Two, BBC HD
Original release2 January (2009-01-02) –
20 February 2009 (2009-02-20)

There was also a book planned to accompany the series, written by Owen-Jones and published by BBC Books, but the book is not published.[3][4]

Episodes

The series was presented in eight episodes with the last one airing on 20 February 2009:

Episode One: Australasia and the Pacific Ring of Fire

Directed & Produced by Sian Salt, Camera Graham Veevers

  • Faith 1: Islam and Spirit Worship: Attends a sword-stabbing ritual performed by the Bugis people of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
  • Faith 2: Christianity and Ancestor worship – Attends a funeral rite performed by the Tana Toraja people of Sulawesi, Indonesia and reflects on their relationship with the dead.
  • Faith 3: Catholic Carabao festival: Visits the annual town festival of Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines in honour of the town's patron saint, San Isidro Labrador. Carabaos, the traditional beast of burden, are made to kneel by the church's doors in veneration of the saint.
  • Faith 4: Catholic fertility ritual: Attends the Obando Fertility Rites in Obando, Bulacan, Philippines, a three-day pagan fertility festival now held to honour three Catholic saints. Locals dance to pray for fertility, out of tradition for past successful dances, and just to be a part of the festival. A priest prays and preaches before directing a large dance inside Obando Church. Peter reflects on the cross-fertilization between Catholicism and animism and suggests that instead of the Catholics simply incorporating the dance into a prayer to the saints the festival may instead be a mutual coupling of fertility and creation.
  • Faith 5: Aboriginal Dreaming: Visits Alice Springs to meet with the Indigenous Australian people, the Aborigines, to witness a baby smoking ritual. Peter accompanies a group of locals on a trip to find the bush used in the ritual. A baby is then held in a small sand pit containing smoldering leaves for a few seconds at a time. A local tells him that the ritual is done so that the baby will be healthy and strong. Peter hoped to witness some of the Aboriginal Dreaming rituals, however, a local tells him that baby smoking is not related to Dreamtime. Peter reflects that the ritual seems to have lost its meaning as the locals are sparse in their explanation of the spiritual aspects of the event. The women of the group then remove their shirts and paint their chest and arms. With feathers in their hair, they dance around a fire. The women tell Peter they are Christian and do not know of the old Aboriginal religion.
  • Faith 6: The Iraqi Mandaeans: Attends a regular baptism service inspired by John the Baptist and performed by the persecuted Mandaeans of Iraq in a park in Sydney, Australia.
  • Faith 7: Urban witchcraft: Visits a group of witches who have established their coven, led by Tim Hartridge, within Sydney, Australia.
  • Faith 8: Indigenous Kastom: Meets practitioners of the tribal faith of Kastomism on the South Pacific island of Tanna, Vanuatu.
  • Faith 9: John Frum cult – Meets practitioners of the new religion of John Frum of Tanna, inspired by the American presence on the island after the World War II.
  • Faith 10: Prophet Fred and Unity: Witnesses the religion of Unity and interviews their prophet, Fred from Tanna and Killian.

Episode Two: The Far East

Directed, Filmed & Series Produced by Graham Johnston

Episode Three: Africa

Directed, filmed & produced by Tom Sheahan

Episode Four: The Middle East

Directed, filmed & produced by Tom Sheahan

Episode Five: USA

Directed & Produced by Karen Selway. Camera Graham Veevers

Episode Six: India and Nepal

Directed, filmed & series produced by Graham Johnston

  • Faith 50: Tibetan Buddhism Witnesses a tara ritual at Kutsab Ternga monastery, near Jomsom, Mustang district, Nepal.
  • Faith 51: Hinduism: Muktinath Walks through 108 waterspouts at the Stupa of Muktinath, near Jomsom, Mustang district, Nepal.
  • Faith 52: Hindu/Buddhist: Child blessing. Attends a child blessing in a house in Kathmandu, Nepal.
  • Faith 53: Hinduism: The Durga Puja festival. Witnesses the Durga Puja festival in Calcutta, India.
  • Faith 54: Hindu Aghoris: Meets an aghori in Tarapith, West Bengal, India.
  • Faith 55: The Bishnoi: Visits The Bishnoi and discusses their belief system in Rajasthan, India
  • Faith 56: The Nath Firewalkers: Witnesses Fire walking at Purnima in Rajasthan, India.
  • Faith 57: Zoroastrianism: Attends a Parsi wedding at the Parsi Fire Temple, Mumbai, India.
  • Faith 58: Sikhism: Attends the 300th anniversary of the consecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Nanded, Maharashtra, India.
  • Faith 59: Jainism: Witnesses celebrations at the monolithic statue of Lord Gomateshwara, Shravanabelagola, Hassan district, India and here meets a Jain wandering nun, which proves to be a moving experience.
  • Faith 60: Hindu Gorehabba ritual: Takes part in the Gorehabba ritual during Diwali at Gummatapura, a village on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, southern India.

Episode Seven: Latin America

Directed & produced by Rob Cowling. Camera Graham Veevers

Peter Owen Jones then visited Bolivia, mentioning how the current president is the first native ethnic president of Bolivia.

  • Faith 63: El Tio: Witnesses offerings to El Tio figure, a mine god at Cerro Rico mine, Bolivia
  • Faith 64: Pachamama: Witnesses llama sacrifice on hill above Sampaya, Bolivia
  • Faith 65: Roman Catholic Church: Automobile blessing outside the basilica of the Virgen de la Candelaria, Copacabana, Bolivia
  • Faith 66: Pentecostalism: Cleansing and exorcism of prisoners at Benfica detention centre, Leopoldina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Assemblies of God minister. Minister later exorcises Owen-Jones in attempt to stop him smoking.
  • Faith 67: Candomblé: Witnesses Samba Day celebrations and orixa possession
  • Faith 68: Templo da Boa Vontade (Temple of Goodwill): Meditation at a pyramid shaped structure in Brasilia.
  • Faith 69: Valley of Dawn: Takes part in the Vale do Amanhecer ritual, a spirit reading, at location near Planaltina, Brazil which proves to be a nerve-racking experience.
  • Faith 70: Santo Daime: Takes part in Ayahuasca service where participants drink powerful substance that is said to induce a higher state of consciousness and reveal aspects of an individual's inner divine self. Location: Ceu do Mapia, State of Acre, Brazil

Episode Eight: Europe

Directed, filmed & produced by Kevin Jarvis

References
  1. Orr, Deborah (5 January 2009). "The Weekend's Television". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  2. "BBC Two – Around the World in 80 Faiths". BBC Two. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  3. Around the World in 80 Faiths. ISBN 1846075068.
  4. "Around the World in 80 Faiths". Wisdom Books. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
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