A BBC documentary to be screened this Christmas will question the beliefs of billions of Christians by suggesting that Mary was not a virgin when she conceived Jesus.
The Virgin Mary, which is to be transmitted on the Sunday before Christmas Day, investigates three explanations, other than the immaculate conception, for Mary's pregnancy.
Firstly it looks at the possibility that she slept with Joseph while she was engaged to be married to him, secondly that she was raped by a Roman soldier and thirdly that she fell pregnant to an unidentified man before marrying Joseph. It concludes that Mary was most likely to have concieved Jesus with Joseph before their marriage as Joseph stood by her; an unmarried pregnant woman at that time in Palestine would have been cast out from the community or may even have been stoned to death.
Alan Bookbinder, the BBC's head of religion and the executive producer of The Virgin Mary said: 'I hope the churches see that the Mary of faith and miracles is well represented and given a lot of prominence in the programme. The church view is given a lot of attention.
'But I hope the churches understand that for non-believers the human Mary -- the mother who saw her son get into difficulty and then die -- is someone with whom they can identify and non-believers will have a lot of sympathy for her.'
The Bible refers to Mary as a virgin but as it was translated from its original languages some theologians insist that in the original version of the Bible the word 'virgin' simply referred to a young girl.
Protestants believe Mary was a virgin in the technical sense but the Church of Scotland allows for a liberty of opinion on the issue as long as basic Church doctrine is adhered to.
However, in 1994 a former Moderator, the Very Rev James Weatherhead, sparked a huge row among traditionalists when he declared in a sermon in St Giles' in Edinburgh that the virgin birth was 'symbolic' and that the Bible need not be taken literally.
A spokesperson from the Church of Scotland commented: 'There is a diversity of opinion on the issue but there remains a diversity of opinion over whether there should be a diversity of opinion.'
The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was a virgin when she conceived Christ. A spokes person from the Catholic Church told the Sunday Herald that the documentary will outrage the Christian community.
'The Virgin Mary is a central figure in Christianity, a person who for 20 centuries has been the source of love and devotion on the part of the Christian people. Many believers will be deeply offended by attacks on her character.
'From the earliest times Christians have honoured Mary as the Mother of Christ and an insult to her is an insult to the beliefs of billions.'