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.

Ray B. Shackelford is a native Houstonian who serves as Vice President of Equitable Justice for the National Urban League (NUL), responsible for managing Reclaim Your Vote, the NULs national nonpartisan get out the vote campaign.

Chris Crawford is the Senior Director of Civic Strategies at Interfaith America. He previously served as a policy strategist at Protect Democracy, where he led staffing for The National Task Force on Election Crises and partnered with Interfaith America in developing the Faith in Elections Playbook during the 2024 election. Press contact is Randy Craig.

Jay Kim is a pastor in Silicon Valley and author writing about digital culture, church life and younger Christian practice in books like The Pace of Peace, Listen Listen Speak, Analog Christian, Analog Church and Colossians: One Jesus, One People. 

Springtide Research Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that studies the lives, beliefs, and identities of young people ages 13 to 25. Through surveys and interviews, the institute explores how youth navigate mental health, spirituality and society, providing data to educators, faith leaders and organizations.

This guide is designed to help reporters uncover fresh, compelling and nuanced religion stories in advance of the United States Semiquincentennial celebrations in July 2026.

The National Museum of American Religion (NMAR) is a private, non-profit, digital-first museum dedicated to highlighting the role religion has played in shaping the social, political, economic and cultural fabric of American life.

The Sikh American History Project is a volunteer-run project dedicated to finding, preserving and sharing the history of Sikhs in the United States.