Religion Media Festival: Millennials, Faith and the Digital Space

The media landscape is changing at speed, and in this panel, millennials who are talking about religion in podcasts, film and online, explained why and how they do it. They said their audience wants to ask questions in a safe space and that millennials (currently aged 29 – 44) accept that society is pluralist. They all grew up and went to school with people of all faiths, so it was ridiculous not to take faith seriously. Their audience is not just brought in through knowledge-seeking, or rational argument, but through stories and feeling that the media was relatable. Hosted by TV producer Jessie Paktiazay, the guests were:

• Swarzy Shire, BBC 1Xtra presenter
• Indy and Dr Jaz, Sikh content creators with a weekly Desi podcast
• Islah Abdur-Rahman, Muslim founder of The Corner Shop Network creating viral clips
• Lamorna Ash, award-winning author of “Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever – a new generation’s search for religion”
• Daisy Scalchi, BBC commissioning editor, specialist factual

The Religion Media Festival, held at Methodist Central Hall, London, on Monday 9 June 2025, was organised by the Religion Media Centre. We are a charity which aims to help journalists report religion by providing daily news bulletins, background briefings, factsheets and opportunities to network.

Links

Website: https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/
X: https://x.com/RelMedCentre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/religion-media-centre/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthZf6RVTqJki6oTQTB6qmw

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