A new gameshow on Turkish television will pit rabbis, imams, monks and priests against each other in an attempt to convert sworn aetheists to their respective religions.
In Penitents Compete (Tovbekarlar Yarisiyor in Turkish), religious leaders will seek to convert at least one of the 10 atheists in each episode to their faith. Those that crack will win a pilgrimage to the spiritual home of their newly chosen faith, Muslims will go to Mecca, Jews and Christians will go to Jerusalem and Buddhists will go to Tibet, the Guardian reports.
According to the show's slogans, contestants will also win "serenity" and "the biggest prize ever... the belief in God". The producers behind the programme hope it will promote religious beliefs and educate the country's majority Muslim population about other faiths.
"The project aims to turn disbelievers on to God," Ahmet Ozdemir, the station's deputy director, told the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review.
The competition is strictly limited to non-believers and contestants will be vetted by an eight-strong commission of theologians before they are allowed to take part.
Converts will then be monitored to ensure their religious transformation is genuine and not simply contrived to gain a free holiday. "They can't see this trip as a getaway, but as a religious experience," Mr Ozdemir said.
However, the programme, which is scheduled to air in September, has been criticised by commentators and religious figures for trivialising God and faith.
In Penitents Compete (Tovbekarlar Yarisiyor in Turkish), religious leaders will seek to convert at least one of the 10 atheists in each episode to their faith. Those that crack will win a pilgrimage to the spiritual home of their newly chosen faith, Muslims will go to Mecca, Jews and Christians will go to Jerusalem and Buddhists will go to Tibet, the Guardian reports.
According to the show's slogans, contestants will also win "serenity" and "the biggest prize ever... the belief in God". The producers behind the programme hope it will promote religious beliefs and educate the country's majority Muslim population about other faiths.
"The project aims to turn disbelievers on to God," Ahmet Ozdemir, the station's deputy director, told the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review.
The competition is strictly limited to non-believers and contestants will be vetted by an eight-strong commission of theologians before they are allowed to take part.
Converts will then be monitored to ensure their religious transformation is genuine and not simply contrived to gain a free holiday. "They can't see this trip as a getaway, but as a religious experience," Mr Ozdemir said.
However, the programme, which is scheduled to air in September, has been criticised by commentators and religious figures for trivialising God and faith.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/5729452/Turkish-gameshow-attempts-to-convert-atheists.html
