The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop of Canterbury: Spiritual leaders, religious leaders, community leaders, political leaders—or all of the above?

We all think we know what we mean when we say 'spiritual leader' and we may have a corresponding image of someone who fits the bill.

But is a religious community leader the same as a spiritual leader? Can one person be a 'spiritual person' and a 'community leader' at the same time?

When a 'spiritual community' grows in size from 15 devout people who live together to 55 who don't, do we need a different type of leadership? What about 5,500? Or 55,000?

Many idealistic people who join spiritual leaders don't like institutions. But what happens when, due to spirituality, a community grows in complexity and diversity of membership? What then? What changes—and what stays exactly the same?

Who speaks for that community? And who speaks to the government about the community's needs?

Here is a BBC radio programme that went out this morning. I thought it was interesting enough to share with you. If you like, have a listen (it's only available for the next seven days) and let me know what you think. It's only about Britain and our religious communities here, but you may find something here to stimulate your thought processes.

Let me know.

Here it is: Sunday—Roger Bolton discusses the week.

[You can also listen to this speach using the audio player on top, and unless the BBC complains, the audio file won't disappear in seven days...]