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Help our colleagues “brainstorm”

At the start of each month, the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ) publishes this “Religion Story Ideas” column as a helpful way to spark fresh stories for our colleagues reporting on religion, spirituality and related cultures around the world. Sponsored by the Communications Committee of the IARJ, these short columns are designed as brainstorming opportunities. And, we want to thank IARJ members who already have sent us suggestions for future columns!

Deep questions on the job? The spiritual director is in your pocket.

Ever since Starbucks began offering the Headspace app as a part of its employee mental health benefits in 2020, journalists have been reporting on how mental health apps are changing the lives of millions of people. Flash forward to 2025 and we’re seeing annual rankings of “Best Mental Health Apps” like this one from the venerable tech-industry CNET website. (And, by the way, CNET ranks Headspace as No. 1 for 2025.) So, why is this a story for the religion beat? Well, so far, reporting on these apps mainly comes from business writers—and sometimes journalists have asked therapists to help them rank these apps. But, have you actually tried one of these services? They specialize in providing everything from alerts to potentially troubling issues—to a buffet of guided meditations. And some of them seem to be getting close to what have traditionally been called “spiritual directors.” There are some fascinating stories to be reported here from the “religion beat.”

Have you looked closely at “Nativity Sets”?

This is the time of year when “nativity sets” are popping up in people’s homes, churches and sometimes in public spaces as well. Anyone who has served on the “religion beat” for more than a few years has reported on the annual legal disputes over public placement of such displays. However, frankly, that’s become a pretty dull story idea, unless of course it’s your local community where neighbors are fighting. Our suggestion for a fresh story idea is to start taking a very close look at the nativity sets people in your community have treasured over many years. If you’re in regular dialogue with your readers, perhaps through a personal column or social media, put out a request for stories families want to share about a historic set that they have been dusting off every year for, say, more than a century. Or, to pursue this from a different perspective, many congregations like to display nativity sets that their members have collected around the world. Find out who’s got a remarkable collection that will be put on display this season. A third perspective might be looking at the best nativity sets for children, which range from durable plastic to some popular wooden sets that kids can play with without any fear they’ll break the figures. Our suggestion is: This year, consider moving past the annual legal disputes to actually look closely at the nativity sets in your community. You might discover some remarkable stories involving families in your readership area.

Spirituality at the movies.

Most “religion writers” around the world rarely get to cross over into the “entertainment beat,” unless there’s some religious controversy that arises over a new movie—but consider befriending whoever covers entertainment in your news organization. Most film and TV columnists are friendly folks who welcome occasional collegial conversation with other journalists. As the writer of these monthly columns, I have been experimenting with recommending a religiously or spiritually themed movie to my own readers every week in the online magazine that I edit, ReadTheSpirit.com. This has led to dozens and dozens of emails from readers who have enjoyed our suggestions of movies they’ve overlooked—and who want to nominate movies for a future recommendation in our magazine’s Faith & Film section. In fact, IARJ Executive Director Peggy Stack recommended that we feature a recommendation of the 2025 film Faith & Treason, which is getting excellent reviews, 88% approval on Rotten Tomatoes among critics, but is a film I had never heard of until Peggy mentioned it to me. I’ve been covering religion for 50 years now, so I am very familiar with the 20th Century era when “religious films” were such a problematic “genre” that entertainment writers avoided them. Today, however, there are some terrific films, both documentaries and dramas, as well as TV shows that are well worth some coverage in the “religion beat.”

Look ahead to 2026!

It’s not too soon to begin thinking about milestones and anniversaries in 2026 that could spark a reflective story that could attract a lot of readers and public discussion. There are some big ones coming next year! For example, 2026 is the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis and already groups around the world have planned major events. It’s also the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St. Peter’s Basilica. There are some solemn milestones, as well. In the autumn of 2026, we will hit the 25th anniversary of the attacks on “9/11” in the United States. In Asia in April, 2026, is the 500th anniversary of the First Battle of Panipat. (Never heard of that? It’s regarded as the beginning of Mughal rule in India.) Especially if you have a meeting with an editor around the turn of the year, it’s not too early to research these—and many other—religion-related milestones in 2026 and map out how you’ll cover them where you live in the world.

Share ideas with us

Let’s make this as easy as possible: David Crumm, a veteran religion writer, magazine editor and publisher based in Michigan in the U.S., writes this column on behalf of the IARJ Communications Committee. If you’ve got further ideas to share about any item in this column, email David directly at [email protected]

Or, if you’ve reported these kinds of stories, send David a link that we can include in a future column.

The IARJ is dedicated to assisting religion journalists around the world to help each other find ever more meaningful ways to report on the significant impact of religion in communities around the world.