Resources for Journalists

The following resources may be helpful for journalists writing about religion—whether you're new to the beat or a veteran reporter.

Associations for Religion Newswriting

For Journalists: Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) supports religion writing excellence in the secular press. Its annual convention is usually in September.

For Journalism Professors: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) has a Religion and Media Interest Group. The AEJMC promotes standards for education in journalism and encourages wide dissemination of communication research. Its annual convention is usually in August.

Awards for Religion Newswriting

American Academy of Religion: Award for Best In-Depth Newswriting on Religion: open to all print and Web-based journalists at media outlets of any size.

Religion Communicators Council: Wilbur Awards: contest categories include books, newspapers, magazines, digital communications, and more.

Religion Newswriters Association: various contests for newspapers, multiple media, magazines, broadcast, and books.

Calendars

Multifaith Calendar links from PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Religious Calendar of listings and resources from The Pluralism Project at Harvard University.

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Directories of Religion Entities

Faith Groups:

Megachurches compiled by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary.

Religious Centers compiled by The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, searchable by tradition, state, and city.

Religious Bodies compiled by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary.

Higher Education:

Religious Studies Departments resources from the American Academy of Religion

Seminaries compiled by the Association of Theological Schools—alphabetical, denominational, and geographical directories of its members

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Guides to Writing about Religion

TRANS/MISSIONS: resources for journalists, journalism educators and students from the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication.

Frequently Asked Questions: veteran newswriters address issues journalists may confront in writing about religion. Available free online or in print from the Religion Newswriters Association.

ReligionLink: story ideas and source guides from the Religion Newswriters Association.

Religion on the International News Agenda (requires PDF): free 142-page downloadable book available from the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

Reporting News About Religion: An Introduction for Journalists: 220-page paperback from Judith Buddenbaum explains how to recognize religion news, choose and use sources, write stories, and more.

Reporting on Religion: A Primer on Journalism's Best Beat (requires PDF): free booklet, written by Diane Connolly and edited by Debra Mason, available from the Religion Newswriters Association.

Reporting on Religion 2: A Stylebook on Journalism's Best Beat: available online from the Religion Newswriters Association, "an easy-to-use, authoritative guide created for journalists who report on religion in the mainstream media."

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News about Religion

Daily Religion News Headlines from the Religion Newswriters Association.

News Feed—Religious Diversity from The Pluralism Project at Harvard University. The site includes searchable archives.

News Stories from Various National Media: a roundup from the Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life project.

News Summaries and Releases from Religion News Service.

Religion Dispatches: a progressive online magazine "devoted to exploring the intersections of religion, values, and public life, nationally and globally."

Religion in the News: an online magazine that covers media reporting of religion produced by the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

The Revealer: "a nonsectarian daily review of religion in the news and the news about religion," produced by New York University's Department of Journalism and The Center for Religion and Media.

Sightings: a semiweekly editorial on religion news and events from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

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Training in Reporting about Religion

Master's Degree in Journalism-Religion: Columbia University.

Master's Degree in Specialized Journalism-Religion: University of Southern California.

Religion Newswriters Association: training opportunities available throughout the year, including Lilly scholarships in religion for journalists, training events at the annual conference, webinars on covering religion, and regional seminars.

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Religious Statistics

Religious factors tend to be difficult to measure and warrant careful scrutiny, especially when comparing data from different sources or across different religions. Below are links to various online providers of religious statistics. The AAR neither endorses nor rejects any provider.

Numbers of Religious Adherents:

Adherents.com: over 43,000 statistics involving 4,200 religions worldwide, collected by Preston Hunter, a computer programmer, to "satisfy my own curiosity."

American Religious Identification Survey: a random survey of some 50,000 adults in the United States asking them their religion. Conducted in 1990, 2001, and 2008, the survey breaks out results by marital status, age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, and US state. The 2008 survey was directed by the Program on Public Values at Trinity College.

Association of Religion Data Archives: provides "statistical and descriptive profiles of nations and regions around the world," including figures on adherents of various religions. ARDA is located at Penn State University and is supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. and the John Templeton Foundation.

The Pluralism Project: a Harvard University project documenting the changing religious landscape of the United States. This page summarizes estimates made in recent years on the numbers of US adherents of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Pagan, Sikh, and Zoroastrian traditions.

U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: a landmark study first conducted in 2007 and updated in 2014 by the Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life project. This nationwide survey, based on interviews with more than 35,000 adults, details the religious affiliation of the American public. It describes and analyzes the changes in religious affiliation based on various demographic factors such as ethnicity, age, gender, educational level, income level, and more. Extensive online tools allow you to explore the data in detail.

World Christian Database: provided by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an evangelical Christian institution. Includes statistics on 9,000 Christian denominations and on religions in every country of the world, with much of the data broken out by ethnic group and by province and city.

Other Religion Data:

Association of Religion Data Archives: provides "statistical and descriptive profiles of nations and regions around the world," including figures on adherents of various religions. ARDA is located at Penn State University and is supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. and the John Templeton Foundation.

Barna Research Online: this marketing research company frequently issues statistics "regarding cultural trends and the Christian Church." The company is explicitly pro-Christian.

Database of Megachurches in the United States: a current compilation by Hartford Seminary. The site allows you to sort online by church name, state location and denominational affiliation.

Faith Communities Today: national surveys conducted by Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for Religion Research in conjunction with the Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership. The research studies provide "information on all aspects of congregational life—worship, conflict, leadership, growth, finances, technology, and more," for churches, mosques, and synagogues in the United States.

National Congregations Study: is an "ongoing national survey effort to gather information about the basic characteristics of America's congregations," including churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship. The site allows you to view and manipulate data from the surveys.

Pew Religion & Public Life Project Surveys: surveys on a variety of topics concerning the role of religion in American public life. Survey topics include politics, stem cell research, Islam, gay marriage, abortion, moral values, poverty, evolution, and many more. Religion & Public Life is a project of the Pew Research Center, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Surveys: surveys from 1987 to today on a variety of topics, including business and economics, domestic policy and social issues, foreign policy, global attitudes and politics. Surveys may be sorted by topic and year. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is a project of the Pew Research Center, a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) Surveys: surveys conducted by a nonpartisan research and education organization founded in 2009.

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