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.

Giulia Evolvi is a scholar of religion and digital media whose work focuses on online discourse, religion in Europe and social media. She examines how religion is communicated, contested and reshaped in digital environments.

Fiona Murphy is a New York-based multimedia journalist and national reporter at Religion News Service. Murphy covers local stories as well as national trends, with a focus on how faith intersects with digital life, identity, and community. In addition to reporting, she produces videos and photography for RNS’s website and social media platforms.

Ben Haupt is a technologist and Christian thinker who co-hosts the Bitcoin Reformation Podcast, where he discusses cryptocurrency, theology and digital culture. His work engages questions of faith, fundraising, leadership and decentralization.

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.