TV game show offers atheists salvation

What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?  Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion — Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.  But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

“Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programmes,” High Board of Religious Affairs chairman Hamza Aktan said.  Makers of Penitents Compete reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin in September, will cheapen religion.

“We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God,” Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu said.  “We don’’t approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn’t matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe,” Soylu said. 

The project focuses on the issue of religious identity in EU-candidate Turkey, where rights groups have raised concerns over freedom of religion for non-Muslim minorities. A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.