Gloo is a U.S.-based technology company that develops digital tools and data platforms for churches and faith-based organizations. Its work focuses on engagement, analytics, and infrastructure for religious communities.

Samer Hassan researches decentralized online communities, digital commons and blockchain governance. He is also affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center and works on technologies that enable collective coordination online.

De Filippi is a legal scholar and researcher working on blockchain governance and decentralized systems. Her work examines how code structures social organization and authority in emerging digital networks.

Gregory Price Grieve studies religion in virtual worlds, gaming and digital Buddhism. His research explores ritual, embodiment and authenticity in online and immersive environments. He has written extensively on religion and digital culture.

In this guide, we provide background, tips and suggestions, newswriting for context and experts and sources for you to turn to as you ramp up your coverage of religion and the 2026 midterms.

Philip Butler is a professor at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. Butler’s work focuses on the intersections of neuroscience, technology, spirituality and Blackness. He engages in critical and constructive analysis on Black posthumanism, artificial intelligence and pluriversal future realities.

Jaimie Gunderson is a religious studies professor at the University of Pittsburgh, whose research interests include Christian origins, Christianity in late antiquity, New Testament, Greco-Roman religions, material religion, affect theory and UFOs.

Mary-Jane Rubenstein writes about the mythological assumptions beneath contemporary science and philosophy. She teaches religion and science studies at Wesleyan University and is the author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race.

This edition of ReligionLink is dedicated to stories that could possibly top the lists in 2025, providing background, resources and expert sources for you to turn to in the year ahead.