Religion News Service (RNS) and Interfaith America are pleased to announce the Religion Journalism Fellowship is returning for its fifth year. This fellowship, which will run from September 2025 to May 2026, helps future religion news journalists develop their awareness of the impact of faith on politics and culture by deepening their understanding of religious expression and building skills specific to covering belief, spirituality, interfaith cooperation and civic pluralism in America.

“In each of the four years of this fellowship, we’ve seen the fellows sharpen their skills and gain confidence as reporters as they tackle topics that interest them deeply and provide real narrative challenges,” says Paul O’Donnell, editor-in-chief at Religion News Service. “Anyone interested in religious journalism, or who just wants to add an awareness of religion to their current storytelling scope can benefit from this program.” 

The 2025-26 fellowship builds on the success of the four previous reporting cohorts, in which more than two dozen stories by 15 fellows appeared on RNS, Interfaith America Magazine and in RNS subscriber publications.

Fiona Murphy, a 2024-25 fellow, focused some of her storytelling on Gen-Z and millennial expressions of faith and spirituality, publishing pieces on the resurgence of new age music, a Catholic priest social media influencer, and a popular Instagram meme account.  

“This fellowship allowed me to foster meaningful professional relationships with the other fellows and with the staff at RNS and Interfaith America,” said Murphy, whose work from the fellowship was syndicated in the Associated Press and the Washington Post.

Other fellows from previous cohorts have written stories on the intersection of faith and topics such as the environment, education, disability and activism. They have also had the opportunity to connect and learn from senior journalists, including Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post, Luis Andres Henao of the Associated Press, independent journalist Dilshad Ali, the New York Times’ Ruth Graham and Professor Ari Goldman of Columbia Journalism School, as well as RNS’ Yonat Shimron and Bob Smietana, 

This year, fellows will again dive into the world of religion news through mentorships with award-winning journalists and experts in pluralism, workshops, panels, editorial meetings, tutoring on critical religion resources and two fully paid trips, to a writing and reporting workshop at Interfaith America’s offices in Chicago and to the 2026 Religion News Association Conference.

The fellows will be awarded a $4,200 stipend and are expected to report and write at least one feature religion story per month, which will be published on the RNS website and the Interfaith America Magazine. 

Fellowship FAQs

Who is eligible to apply?

Applications are open to all journalism graduates who have completed their degree in the past three years, and to freelance reporters and storytellers in interfaith spaces who may not have a journalism degree but have at least a year of relevant reporting experience. This fellowship is only open to people living in the United States.

What are the Fellowship expectations?

Fellows will pitch stories during monthly editorial meetings and work under the guidance of RNS editors to edit and publish them. The stories will be published on the RNS website and, as relevant, on the Interfaith America Magazine site. Fellows are expected to produce at least one in-depth feature story per month.

To receive the fellowship certificate, fellows must have published at least four feature stories by the end of the fellowship and attended all monthly editorial meetings, the two in-person convenings, and guest speaker sessions.

What’s the fellowship timeline?

The fellowship runs from September 2025 to May 2026.

Fellows will travel to Chicago for an in-person convening in the Fall of 2025 and to the annual Religion News Association Conference in the Spring of 2026.

What does the fellowship include?

A $4,200 stipend, workshops, and sessions with renowned religion reporters from across the nation, one-on-one mentorship with RNS and Interfaith America Magazine editorial teams, opportunities to attend editorial meetings and network with reporters and editors in the field, and two fully paid trips to the Religion News Association Conference and a writing workshop in Chicago.

Applications will be accepted until August 1, 2025. Apply by filling out this online form. 

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About Interfaith America

Interfaith America (formerly known as Interfaith Youth Core) is a national nonprofit that equips the next generation of citizens and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed for leadership in a religiously diverse world. Partnering with civic groups, higher education institutions, public health and business, Interfaith America is dedicated to making interfaith cooperation the norm, promoting civic pluralism, and building an interfaith America in the 21st century. 

About RNS 

Religion News Service (RNS) is an independent, nonprofit, and award-winning source of global news on religion, spirituality, culture, and ethics, reported by a staff of professional journalists. Founded in 1934, RNS seeks to inform readers with objective reporting and insightful commentary and is relied on by secular and faith-based news organizations in many countries. 

DEI Statement 

Interfaith America and Religion News Service are committed to supporting work at the intersection of racial equity and interfaith cooperation. We believe in the essential contributions of countless religious and secular traditions that affirm dignity and justice for every human being. We recognize and celebrate that movements for a better world—including the anti-Apartheid movement, and Civil Rights movement—have been fueled by interfaith cooperation. All our programs and projects incorporate a lens of equity and inclusion.