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.

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. 

Yasmin Moll is ama cultural anthropologist of the Middle East and North Africa at the University of Michigan. Her research spans the intersections of religion, media, youth and politics as well as questions of race, indigeneity and heritage activism in the region.

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.

Ray Takeyh is Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His areas of specialization are Iran, U.S. foreign policy and the modern Middle East. Prior to joining CFR, he served as senior advisor on Iran at the State Department and was a fellow at Yale University, […]

In this guide, we offer background, resources, relevant stories and expert sources to help you better cover the religion angle on the current conflict and what it might mean in the wake of the latest war in the Middle East.