Events

2020 Annual Meeting

Your AAR staff continues to work toward holding the Annual Meeting in Boston, Nov. 21-24, 2020. We are aware of the uncertainty and contradictory projections related to the COVID-19 pandemic and with health and safety as a priority, we will continue monitoring the guidance of governments and health experts as we plan and make decisions. Should any changes need to be made related to the 2020 Annual Meeting, we will promptly notify you.

2020 Regional Meetings

Open Registration:

All remaining regional meetings for 2020 have been canceled

Winners and Sample Articles

2018  2017  2016  2015  2014  2013  2012  2011  2010  2009  2008  2007  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000
 


2019 Journalism Awards

First Place    Ian Johnson, Freelancer
    #MeToo in the Monastery: A Chinese Abbot’s Fall Stirs Questions on Buddhism’s Path
Second Place   Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, Global Sisters Report
    Michael Brown's death still galvanizes anti-racism efforts in Ferguson
Third Place   Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
    Exclusive: Former papal abuse commissioners want re-evaluation of group

2018 Journalism Awards

First Place    Daniel Burke, CNN
    Roy Moore, Jerusalem and LGBT rights: Why is religion so divisive?
Second Place   Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service
    Meet the clergy who stared down white supremacists in Charlottesville
Third Place   Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News
    Serving God by suing others: Inside the Christian conservative legal movement

2017 Journalism Awards

First Place    Ariel Sabar, writing for the Atlantic and Smithsonian
    The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus's Wife
Second Place   Rachel Zoll, Associated Press
    Divided America: Evangelicals Feel Alienated, Anxious
Third Place   Ruth Graham, writing for the New York Times Magazine and Slate
    The Professor Wore a Hijab in Solidarity—Then Lost Her Job

2016 Journalism Awards

First Place    Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, Global Sisters Report
    Human Trafficking in the US: Sisters' Networks and Ministries Break the Cycle One Life at a Time
Second Place   Betsy Hiel, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
    Egypt's Churches Charred to Shells
Third Place   Daniel Burke, CNN
    The Pope's Dark Night of the Soul

2015 Journalism Awards


2014 Journalism Awards

First Place    Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune
    Plight of the ERMs
Second Place   Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post
    Family Undertaking: Home Funerals Add Intimacy to the Grieving Ritual
Third Place   Matthew Brown, Deseret News
    Supreme Court Ruling 50 Years Ago Set Modern Course for Religion in Public Schools

2013 Journalism Awards

First Place    Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post
    Buddhism's Race Problem: Buddhist 'People of Color Sanghas'
Second Place   Jessica Ravitz, CNN.com
    Crossing the Plains and Kicking Up Dirt, a New Mormon Pioneer
Third Place   G. Jeffrey MacDonald, writing for the Christian Science Monitor
    The New Face of Faith

2012 Journalism Awards

First Place    Sarah Breger, Moment Magazine
    A Priest Bears Witness
Second Place   Brett Buckner, writing for the Anniston (Ala.) Star
    Mormons Rising
Third Place   Daniel Burke, Religion News Service
    They're baaack! What's Behind the Return of the Exorcist?

2011 Journalism Awards

First Place    John Blake, CNN.com
    Black preachers who 'whoop' -- minstrels or ministers?
Second Place   Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com
    Amid furor, 'ground zero mosque' imam leans on interfaith crisis management team
Third Place   Jason Berry, writing for the National Catholic Reporter
    Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican

2010 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Daniel Burke, Religion News Service
   
     From the Depths
Second Place   Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch
   
     Answering the Call: Day One
Third Place   Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
   
     Faith and Good Works

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
   
     Origin of Debate
Second Place   John Dart, Christian Century
   
     Study Process Aided ELCA Gay Breakthrough
Third Place   Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
   
     Stem Cell Future

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    David Gibson, PoliticsDaily.com
   
     Queen Esther's Legacy
Second Place   Tracey O'Shaughnessy, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
   
     Faith finds some but loses others
Third Place   Joel Engardio, WashingtonPost.com and USA Today
   
     Our Gay Christian Neighbors

2009 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Laurie Goodstein, New York Times
   
     Divine Recruits
Second Place   Barbara Bradley Hagerty, National Public Radio
   
     Obama's Religious Rhetoric Puts Faith in the Spotlight
Third Place   Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
   
     Here's the church, but where are the people?

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Tracy Simmons, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
   
     Connecticut Nun and Ethicist Addresses Sexual Taboos
Second Place   Brad A. Greenberg, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
   
     L.A.'s Defenders of Israel
Third Place   Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
   
     Called into the presence of God

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    David Gibson, Star-Ledger of New Jersey and Wall Street Journal
   
     Vestments are more than just clothes for the pope
Second Place   Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
   
     Academic philosophers need to speak again of God
Third Place   Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today
   
     The evangelicals you don't know

2008 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Manya Brachear, Chicago Tribune
   
     Race is Sensitive Subtext in Campaign
Second Place   Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal
   
     Borrowed Ideas
Third Place   Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
   
     A House Divided

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Lee Lawrence, Christian Science Monitor
   
     Military Chaplains: A Presbyterian Pastor Patrols With His Flock of Soldiers in Iraq
Second Place   G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor
   
     Social Conservatives Rally an Investor Army
Third Place   Brad A. Greenberg, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
   
     Does Hollywood Give Jewish?

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Mohamad Bazzi, The Nation and Newsday
   
     Muqtada al-Sadr’s Power Grab
Second Place   William McKenzie, Dallas Morning News
   
     In the Age of the Public Intellectual, Theologians Have a Role to Play
Third Place   Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
   
     Why the Force is Still With Us

2007 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Jennifer Green, Ottawa Citizen
   
     The Education of David Jeffrey
Second Place   Jennifer Garza, Sacramento Bee
   
     Bridging the Divide
Third Place   Omar Sacirbey, Freelancer, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
   
     The Clash

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Jason Byassee, Christian Century
   
     I was in Prison
Second Place   G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor
   
     A Gospel's Rocky Path
Third Place   Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina, USA)
   
     March Is Act of Remembrance

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
   
     Age of Terror, Age of Illusions
Second Place   Asra Q. Nomani, Freelancer, Morgantown, West Virgina, USA
   
     Clothes Aren't the Issue
Third Place   Kevin Eigelbach, Cincinnati Post
   
     Kinsey Blamed for Ills of Society

2006 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Charles A. Radin, Boston Globe
   
     Two Visions of Faith Collide
Second Place   Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
   
     The Way of Shikoku: A Pilgrim's Lot
Third Place   John Blake, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
   
     Back from the Abyss

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Jean Gordon, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.)
   
     It Will Just Make Me More Spiritual
Second Place   Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
   
     Staring into the Void: God and the Holocaust
Third Place   Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald
   
     Family Tree Tied to Forgotten Genocide

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Naomi Schaefer Riley, Wall Street Journal
   
     The Hard Sell
Second Place   Tracey O’Shaughnessy, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
   
     Evolution Debate has Regressed
Third Place   Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
   
     Iraqi Conflict a Sectarian Civil War

2005 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Kimberly Winston, freelance, Pinole, Calif.
   
     Did “The Passion” Fulfill its Promise?
Second Place   Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
   
     Ritual Provides a Place to Contain Pain
Third Place   David Van Biema, Time
   
     Found in Translation

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Linda Leicht, News-Leader, Springfield, Mo.
   
     Debating Life’s Origins: Teachers Struggle to Learn and Present Evolution and Creationism
Second Place   Burton Bollag, Chronicle of Higher Education
   
     Can God See the Future?
Third Place   John Dart, Christian Century
   
     Attenders, Not Members: Join the church? Well…

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Steven Waldman, Beliefnet
   
     The Real Reasons Evangelicals Love Bush
Second Place   Tracey O’Shaughnessy, Sunday Republican (Waterbury, Conn.)
   
     Singling Out Kerry Does the Church Harm
Third Place   Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
   
     Having More, Enjoying it Less

2004 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Laurie Goodstein, New York Times
   
     Seeing Islam as ‘Evil Faith’: Evangelicals Seek Converts
Second Place   G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service
   
     Behind America’s rush to memorialize death
Third Place   Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune
   
     Hard-hit town enlists clergy’s aid

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    John Dart, Christian Century
   
     Can Hollywood teach and inspire? Reel Faith
Second Place   Julie Marshall, Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
   
     A Matter of Duty: Anti-war beliefs could not be ignored, say conscientious objectors
Third Place   Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor
   
     Shaping the Future of Marriage

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
   
     The Dutch way of doing things
Second Place   Steven Waldman, Beliefnet
   
     Don’t Pray American
Third Place   Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
   
     Crucible for Islam

2003 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Susan Hogan/Albach, Dallas Morning News
   
     The Gay Divide
Second Place (tie)   Sharon Boase, Hamilton Spectator (Canada)
   
     Retiring McMaster Theologian's Theory of God's Love Ruffles Evangelical Feathers
    G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service
   
     Rethinking Religious Tolerance

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Deb Richardson-Moore, Greenville (SC) News
   
     Local Kurds United against Saddam: Simpsonville Offers Young Families a Future on a Street 'that God Built'
Second Place   Maya Kremen, Herald News (West Patterson, NJ)
   
     Spirits of the dead: Palo Mayombe, a mixture of African and Catholic beliefs, stirs controversy
Third Place   Julie Marshall, Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
   
     Death and healing: First ‘patients’ teach students about medicine, compassion in cadaver lab

Contest for Opinion Writing

First Place    Deborah Caldwell, Beliefnet
   
     How Islam Bashing Got Cool: President Bush no Longer Seems Able to Restrain Anti-Islamic Rhetoric
Second Place   Kenneth Woodward, Newsweek
   
     In the Beginning, There Were the Holy Books
Third Place   Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
   
     Where Church and State Are One: How long can Saudi Arabia’s puritanical version of Islam survive?

2002 Journalism Awards

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Peter Smith, Louisville Courier-Journal
   
     Cane Ridge Meeting House: 1801 Revival Reverberates today
Second Place   Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
   
     On Ash Wednesday, A Wider Observance
Third Place   Dave Gibson, (Newark) Star-Ledger
   
     Losing the Holy War; No Hope in Faith-based Programs

Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation

First Place    Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education
   
     3 Theologians Face a Dilemma for Themselves, Their Colleges, and the Church
Second Place   John Dart, Christian Century
   
     Simpsons Have Soul
Third Place   Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor
   
     Morality and War

Contest for Opinion Writing


2001 Journalism Awards

Over 100,000 circulation    Richard N. Ostling, Associated Press
Under 100,000 circulation   Rhonda Parks Manville, Santa Barbara News-Press
Opinion Writing   Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star

2000 Journalism Awards

First Place  Carol McGraw, Orange County Register
Second Place  Bill Broadway, Washington Post
Third Place  Bruce Bryant-Friedland, Florida Times-Union