WS MoreOrLess: Nuns on the rise
More or Less
BBC
4.6 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2015
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It was recently reported that the number of women training to become Catholic nuns in Great Britain has reached a 25-year high. What's the long-term trend – are more women becoming nuns? Tim Harford looks at figures from the UK and across the world. Plus, Matt Parker the stand-up mathematician is invited back to the programme to respond to a listener's query about his theory on the best way to find a life partner.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the short edition of Morales, first broadcast on the BBC World Service. |
| 0:06.0 | Thank you for downloading from the BBC. |
| 0:09.0 | The details of our complete range of podcasts and our terms of use |
| 0:12.0 | go to BBCWorldService.com slash podcasts. |
| 0:18.0 | Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service. |
| 0:22.0 | I'm Tim Halford. |
| 0:24.0 | As the general election looms here in the UK, |
| 0:27.0 | the nation's newspapers are scrutinising what they see as the crucial issue facing the country. |
| 0:33.0 | A sudden surge in the number of nuns. |
| 0:38.0 | Sister Act, how nuns are staging a surprise comeback in the UK? |
| 0:44.0 | Having none of it, growing numbers of British women take up the habit. |
| 0:50.0 | Women becoming nuns, it's 25 years high. |
| 0:54.0 | Our non-correspondent Hannah Moore joins me now. |
| 0:59.0 | And can we agree right now, Hannah, to avoid terrible puns? |
| 1:03.0 | I think that's what everyone wants, Tim. |
| 1:05.0 | Although I am the best reporter, bar none. |
| 1:08.0 | So this story is based on data from the Catholic Church, |
| 1:12.0 | showing that the number of new nuns in England and Wales has travelled in five years. |
| 1:17.0 | And that might sound surprising in the context of a more secular society. |
| 1:21.0 | There are fewer Christians in the UK and the nuns seem to be bucking the trend. |
| 1:26.0 | So Hannah, there are three times as many new nuns, three times what? |
| 1:31.0 | Three times not very much, Tim. |
... |
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