2019 RNA Annual Conference

Please join us for the crowning event of our annual conference, where we honor the winners of the 2019 RNA Awards for Religion Reporting Excellence. Our emcee for the evening is RNA Contest Chairman and Board Member Jeff Diamant.

Gun violence, hate crimes and natural disasters devastate communities. They also create difficult assignments for religion reporters. This panel will explore how to respectfully cover a horrific event and how to take care of yourself in the process.

Religion reports may be familiar with Twitter and Facebook to meet new sources and engage discourse on religion. However, Reddit, Instagram and even Tic-Toc are among other platforms that are being used more often by religious people. Along with detailing these lesser-known forums, this panel will discuss social media etiquette and how reporters should engage with online religious communities.

Faith groups are front and center across the abortion issue, with some pushing to curtail abortion rights and others urging courts and legislatures to protect women's right to an abortion. As states pass six-week abortion bans, each side says they are morally called to their beliefs. In this panel, we'll sort through some of the myriad religious viewpoints and how they're poised to impact the future of abortion in the United States.

This panel will feature photographers and videographers discussing how to find the right visuals for your story. They will address the unique challenges of working in sacred spaces and offer tips for reporters who are asked to take their own photos.

Under the right-wing government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has seen a rise in Hindu nationalism and an increased targeting of religious minorities. This panel will examine what is Hindu nationalism, whether and how it is supported through groups in the United States and why nuanced reporting matters.

“I have another name for what they’re terming whistleblowers, and that’s righteous heroes…And thank goodness for them.” No religion is exempt from assault and scandal, and none is exempt from those willing to step up and speak out against that wrongdoing. This panel will bring together men and women in different faiths who have chosen to risk family, community and profession to call out a misuse and abuse of religious power against them or others. This panel will address how those in power, in many situations, still remain in power even after being exposed. We will discuss why and how these whistleblowers reached their ultimate decision to speak out and ultimately ask themselves the question: “Whose law do I abide by — man or the divine?”

New York Times correspondent Rukmini Callimachi, one of the world’s leading reporters on religious extremism, joins religion historian R. Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame to consider how faith is represented in the media and how it might be reexamined, especially in connection to peace and conflict.

Drug policy is changing nationwide, as states legalize medical or recreational marijuana, cities vote on psilocybin use and leaders reconsider penalties for those caught with illegal substances. This panel will address how faith groups are responding to these shifts and what future changes to expect in the next few years.

There was a time when houses of worship were considered safe spaces, sanctuaries that offered refuge and welcomed strangers. But several recent attacks at churches, Sikh temples, mosques and synagogues have left people of faith wondering how safe their sanctuaries are. This panel will explore the conundrum of protecting congregants while maintaining the sanctity of these sacred spaces.