Doug Todd receiving a hall of fame certificate at an IARJ conference

During the International Association of Religion Journalists’ conference in Cordoba, Spain, on Sept. 22-23, Douglas Todd was inducted into the global organizations Hall of Fame by executive director Peggy Fletcher Stack.

Todd writes on religion, diversity and migration for The Vancouver Sun and Postmedia News, Canada’s largest newspaper chain. He has been a long-time correspondent for Religion News Service, based in New York. Todd has received 33 national and international journalism prizes. He is a two-time winner of the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award, recipient of a Canadian National Newspaper Award and been given the top awards for commentary from the American Academy of Religion. He is the author of two books and editor of Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia–Exploring the Spirit of the Pacific Northwest. He was IARJ chair from 2015 to 2021.

Here is what IARJ founder and current advisor David Briggs wrote about him:

The induction of our friend and colleague Doug Todd into the IARJ Hall of Fame is cause for great celebration. We celebrate his writing which for decades has ranked him as one of the finest religion journalists in North America. We celebrate his selfless service that has been so critical to the development of the IARJ from its earliest days through his indispensable leadership as chair until his continued work on the board today. We celebrate his being an exemplar of so many of the core values of the IARJ.

To know Doug is to know a decent, compassionate human being with an incredible thirst for knowledge of various forms of faith and belief, along with related areas such as philosophy, diversity, psychology and migration, all the while working and sharing with each of us in a spirit of mutual respect and dignity that transcends all boundaries. That you join such past inductees as Spain’s own Maria-Paz Lopez, Larbi Megari of Algeria and Erick Kabendera of Tanzania is so right and wonderful. My dear friend, while I cannot be with you today, please know it is with great joy that I celebrate with you on this historic occasion.

Endy Bayuni, former editor of the Jakarta Post and IARJ executive director from 2016 to 2021, added his thoughts about the Canadian journalist.

I see Doug Todd as one of the most knowledgeable and most experienced among the founding members of the IARJ. Along with David Briggs and Peggy Fletcher Stack, he had come from the Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) before they launched the IARJ in 2012. He brought with him not only the professional skills in reporting and writing religion, but also in putting together an organization like IARJ with its global reach and then in running it. I profited from my exchanges with Doug in running the IARJ since he was chair of the association while I was executive director between 2016 and 2021. Doug is a prolific writer reporting on migration, diversity and religion for the Vancouver Post/Postmedia News. I enjoy his writings. They are not only illuminating about the social challenges that Vancouver and Canada face, but I also learn about popular and effective writing on complex issues such as migration and religion. Congratulations Doug. I wished I could be there with you on this happy occasion.