Buddhist flag in a public domain digital image.

At the start of each month, the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ) will be publishing a “Religion Story Ideas on the Horizon” column as a helpful way to spark ideas 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 to be helpful brainstorming opportunities as our colleagues look for stories in coming months.

Obon is coming

Most religion journalists are wary of tackling a story on this centuries-old tradition that evolved from Japan, mainly because reporting quickly turns up the wide range of practices and dates. Stephanie Fenton, an IARJ member who specializes in reporting on religion for ReadTheSpirit online magazine has written about this festival every year for nearly two decades—and her readers now expect it and appreciate the coverage. “Just explaining why Oban can take place in July or August or September is complicated—and then you’ve got the variety of terms from Oban to Ban to Ullambana to Kyu Bon and so on,” she says. “It’s a challenge, but it’s also a very meaningful story that touches on our deep connections with ancestors as a major theme in these religious and cultural traditions.”

So many unreported flag stories!

A journalist specializing in covering religion should post a card in the office that simply says: “Flags!” There are countless unreported stories on flags, enough to make this an ongoing well of stories that could be drawn to the surface every now and then. How many houses of worship display flags? Why? How many have removed them? Are there major feuds or even splits over flags? And, what do flags mean in faith communities? If you research flags, you may discover some compelling time pegs as well. Two examples: The so-called “Christian flag” that was promoted in the U.S. around 1907 began showing up in Africa, Asia and Latin America with “missionaries” in the 1920s, which means if you spot one of those flags on display in those continents—you’ve got a story about the religious, social and political meaning of that flag over the past century. And the Buddhist flag? This is the 140th anniversary of the flag’s design in Sri Lanka.

And did you miss the Pew report about global trends?

If you somehow overlooked this news, you’ll definitely want to explore what Pew researchers are telling us about global spiritual trends.

Hundreds of these storytellers are dying every day

And that headine is not an exaggeration when religion writers consider the possibility of interviewing World War II veterans. Most religion journalists around the world have at least once in their careers reported on the story of Four Chaplains who gave up their lives in 1943. There are many, many more remarkable stories of faith and combat just waiting to be reported—but the rate at which we’re losing these veterans is estimated at 100-to-200 per day. When they’re gone, many of these stories will disappear with them. No, not every WWII veteran has a story related to religion, but have you checked in your area for veterans groups? Have you asked who might have a remarkable story to tell that’s relevant to the religion beat?

Can people of faith make a dent in the global plastics crisis?

Most IARJ members around the world have never reported on the plastics crisis—but that’s going to change if a broad coalition of Christian (Protestant and Catholic), Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and many other faith leaders are able to raise awareness. This story in a nutshell is: The world’s faiths all preach Creation care. Plastics are one of the greatest unreported threats to Creation. So, who’s out there on the cutting edge of building religious coalitions around the world? Well, the EarthBeat journalists who publish through The National Catholic Reporter have been reporting on this issue. An example is this late 2024 story by award-winning journalist Brian Roewe. Then, one of the world’s most important catalytic organizations is largely unknown to IARJ members. It’s the 65-year-old Temple of Understanding that works largely through United Nations networks. To see some of TOU’s many faith connections, check out this 2025 video of a forum on faith and plastics hosted by Grove Harris of TOU. (Soon, a major history of TOU, as one of the world’s most influential women-led interfaith catalysts, will be published, making their work much more visible.)