Tributes have been pouring in for ethical business pioneer Anita Roddick, who died on 10 September 2007 aged 64 after a major brain haemorrhage. A supporter of numerous causes, she disliked institutional religion but loved the alternative Christian arts festival Greenbelt.

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called for a binding international treaty to protect churches, mosques, synagogues and other sites of spiritual significance.

The Harry Potter books, says Steve Fouch, are full of values that Christian and atheist and agnostic alike would recognise – because friends matter, truth is vital, and evil is always weaker than good.

The BBC is launching a new major TV programme called The Big Questions this weekend. Its aim is to move the discussion of diverse beliefs and ethics out of a narrow 'religion' bracket, and to respond creatively to the debates taking place in modern Britain.

Getting together round the fire and having a good nosh and natter is a great way to combat prejudice and social division, reckons ex-Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has just become patron of South Africa's Barbecue (Braai) Day.

New research published by academics based at the University of East London indicates that the demographic patterns in Britain's capital are in some cases shaped more by religious and cultural identity than by categories of race and ethnicity.

Current media debates about religion are often ill-informed as well as partisan, says Theo Hobson. Atheists as well as believers need challenging on their outlook.

An ambitious media look at religious zealots in Christianity, Judaism and Islam is receiving worldwide media coverage, but lukewarm reviews from television critics in the United States. The CNN series began to air on 22 August 2007

In an era where a basic understanding of what Christianity is about cannot be taken for granted, Simon Barrow welcomes a new book by philosopher and theologian Keith Ward which clears some ground and opens up issues.

A coalition of activists from US civic and religious groups concerned about the impact of climate change on the global community, particularly the poorest, are organising a fast on 4 September 2007 to call for concerted action.