The Far East

Pete Owen Jones presents the definitive guide to faith on earth, with eighty rituals across six continents in the space of a year. The big six world religions are only part of the story. Faith is belief in the sacred, and it is expressed in a rich diversity of rituals, in denominations, sects, cults, tribal faiths and new religious movements. Pete's mission is to witness and take part in rites rarely filmed before, to take the religious pulse of the planet and to understand the depth of humanity's fascination with the divine. As an Anglican priest, Pete confronts cultures that challenge his values and prejudices - he is surprised, even offended, but also enlightened. In this episode of the series, Pete encounters the exotic and inscrutable religions of the Far East, from anarchic Buddhist Naked Man and Shinto Fire festivals in Japan to enlightening Taoist monks in the mountains of China. He visits an obscure Shamanic sect in South Korea, and finds out how war helped to create the biggest church in the world. In Buddhist Thailand he explores the meaning of non-attachment, and in Vietnam he comes under the spell of a divine eye, before giving money away to a mother goddess.