The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

Guardian columnist Peter Lewis has been reading the Pope's encyclical, not as an adherent of the Catholic faith but as someone who’s “proudly human”.

The latest flashpoint is a dispute over Islamic burial rites.

The very slow rise of Muslim immigration hasn’t slowed the rise of anti-immigration sentiment in Japanese politics and society.

It’s a funeral taking place over six days, five cities and two countries. Crowds have overwhelmed the streets of Iran to mourn or just watch the funeral procession for the late Ayatollah Khamenei. He and other family members died in February in attacks by the US and Israel. Khamenei ran a brutal regime that killed an estimated 40,000 demonstrators earlier this year, but his funeral has become a rallying point for the nation. 
The man set to become the next prime minister of Britain, Andy Burnham, is best known as the popular and successful mayor of Greater Manchester in northern England. But long before that, he was a pious altar boy in his local Catholic church in Liverpool. Burnham has referred frequently to his Catholic background and values, even if he observes only some of the church’s teaching. How much will faith shape his prime ministership? 
One of the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime is severe restrictions on religious practice. But there’s also been a marked increase in religious repression by individuals, sometimes in defiance of more liberal government policies. The Pew Research Center in Washington has been monitoring this situation.
GUESTS:
Dr Ali Mamouri  is a Middle East specialist at Deakin University and a former adviser to an earlier reform government in neighbouring Iraq.
Hannah Rich is a senior researcher at the London-based think tank Theos.
Samirah Majumdar is the lead author of Pew Research's recent report.
This program is made on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation

Long before being a PM incumbent, Andy Burnham was a pious altar boy in his local Catholic church in Liverpool. 
Burnham has referred frequently to his Catholic background and values, even if he observes only some of the church’s teaching. 
How much will faith shape his prime ministership? 
GUEST:
Hannah Rich is a senior researcher at the London-based think tank Theos.