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.

David Mislin is a historian of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century United States, and his work focuses on the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. He is the author of Saving Faith: Making Religious Pluralism an American Value at the Dawn of the Secular Age (Cornell University Press, 2015).

Andrew Ali Aghapour is a scholar, storyteller, writer, and artistic producer living in Durham, NC. With a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, he worked as the Consulting Scholar of Religion and Science for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where he helped develop the “Discovery and Revelation,” exhibition and co-author the exhibit […]

Brook Wilensky-Lanford is a religion writer, editor, and teacher. She is the author of A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America, forthcoming in June 2026 and Paradise Lust: Searching for the Garden of Eden. Media inquiries should be directed to Deb Seager, Director of Publicity, Grove Atlantic.

Peter Manseau is the founding director of the Center for Understanding Religion in American History at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and first curator of religion at the Smithsonian Institute, both in Washington, D.C. He can discuss religious art in America and American history.

Benjamin Zeller is chair of the religion department at Lake Forest College. He focuses on religious currents that are new or alternative, including new religions, the religious engagement with science, and the quasi-religious relationship people have with food.

This edition of ReligionLink provides background on what Christian nationalism is, stories that show how it is influencing politics worldwide and experts to help reporters and readers better understand its heady mix of ideological politics and national identity.

Jeffrey W. Robbins is professor of religion and philosophy at Lebanon Valley College, where he also serves as director of the American studies program. He is a member of the board of directors and a research fellow of the Westar Institute, where he directs the ongoing academic seminar on “God and the Human Future,” and […]