Are You Having A Laugh? - Comedy And Christianity

Matt Kirshen: Jokes about Muslims

That's how many jokes about Islam there are: some of them are hack, up there with cats and dogs, airline food and the line, "He knows what I'm talking about".

That week on TV: Are You Having a Laugh?, BBC1

Ann Widdecombe's polemic on jokes about Christianity going too far was unexpectedly instructive.

Comedy and Christianity, BBC One, review

Whether you endorse Ann Widdecombe's view of the world or not, there's no faulting the spirit with which she defends it.

Are You Having a Laugh? Comedy and Christianity, BBC1

There is, it appears, one person left in Britain still offended by The Life of Brian. Thankfully, and presumably in response to accusations of atheist bias in the BBC's comedy, someone has seen fit to grant an hour of TV to her for Are You Having a Laugh? Comedy and Christianity.

Are You Having a Laugh?, BBC One

Widdecombe intelligently explored many avenues on this topic - perhaps too many, as the number of talking heads nearly hit double figures and nobody was given enough time to elaborate a point.

Ann Widdecombe investigates why Christianity has become a favourite for mockery by comedians. She thinks that the jokes are becoming nastier and aimed at belief itself rather than the institution. She wonders what this says about the place of Christianity in Britain today and asks whether any subject should be beyond critique. Comedians interviewed include Terry Jones and Marcus Brigstocke, plus there's input from baroness Sayeeda Warsi and former archbishop Lord George Carey.

Ann Widdecombe is not afraid to put her head above a cultural parapet. Here she gives us pause for thought in Holy Week by questioning the way comedians now ridicule Christianity more freely than ever. She's not against a nice, old-fashioned joke about a vicar, you understand (Rev gets a guarded stamp of approval); it's jokes on panel shows casually mocking Jesus or sketches involving religious rites that offend.

Ann Widdecombe has been leading the Christian counterattack for years now - whatever your views on her politics and social attitudes, she's rarely dull. But is she the right person to address the vexed subject of comedy and Christianity? Well, as it happens, she's often quite funny, if not necessarily intentionally. For example, the reaction shots of her watching everything from Goodness Gracious Me to Monty Python's Life of Brian will raise a few sniggers.

Ann's indignation is easy to understand but hard to agree with. Sure, Christianity is much-mocked and plenty of the satire is both gratuitous and lazy. But what Widdy fails to accept is that, as Steve Punt puts it, 'The comedy itself is a reply.' For years, Christianity set the British agenda. Much of the humour is simply an acknowledgement of how much has changed. Oh, and she fails to mention Father Ted, an unforgiveable ommission from the point of view of both entertainment and analysis.

Ann Widdecombe: Christians are the butt of bad jokes

Gentle mockery or sharp satire aimed at Christians and their leaders has been replaced by abuse of Christianity itself.

An intelligent documentary from Ann Widdecombe, looking at the relationship between comedy and Christianity in Britain over recent years. The film's success is partly due to Widdecombe's staunch attitude to her subject. Mockery of religion is becoming increasingly offensive and she uses her passionate faith as a starting point to bounce off a diverse crew of contributors. Particularly revealing is a conversation with former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey about Monty Python's Life of Brian. Widdecombe dismisses the movie. Carey, however, loves it. "The mature Christian response is to have a sense of humour," he says.