Every year, the AAR honors the best in-depth reporting on religion. The contest is open to all print and web-based journalists at media outlets of any size. Each journalist has to submit three to five articles published during the previous calendar year. Below, find a list of past winners and a selection of articles they submitted.
2023 Journalism Awards
Best In-Depth Newswriting
First Place
Sarah Posner
Andrew Hartzler Wasn’t Allowed To Be Gay on Campus. So He’s Suing.
Second Place
Deepa Bharath, Associated Press
Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler
Third Place
Sam Kestenbaum
Demon Time: How a former actress-turned-Christian EDM singer from small-town New York became a Pentecostal faith healer for the TikTok era
Best In-Depth Multimedia Journalism
First Place
Francine Orr, The Los Angeles Times
The fight against COVID, a chaplain says, unfolded on 'sacred ground'
Second Place
Blair Hodges, Fireside
Hidden, with Ayala Fader
Third Place
Sarah Ventre, Mystic Mother
Mystic Mother 1. Aphrodite
2022 Journalism Awards
Best In-Depth Newswriting
First Place
Peter Manseau
His Pastors Tried to Steer Him Away from Social Media Rage. He Stormed the Capitol.
Second Place
Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, The Christian Century
Survivors of Sex Abuse by Nuns Suffer Decades of Delayed Healing
Third Place
Ken Chitwood
Yiddish Music is Resurging in the Weimar Square Hitler Frequented
Best In-Depth Multimedia Journalism
First Place
Mike Cosper
Episode 2 of the podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, entitled, “Boomers, The Big Sort, and Really, Really Big Churches
Second Place
Monique Parsons
Episodes of the podcast, The Spiritual Edge, entitled “Making Space for Women in Mosques” and “Inside an Illinois Maximum Security Prison with a Theology Professor and Her Students.”
Third Place
Kylie McGivern
Man accuses Florida priest of sexually abusing him as a child. Why the state can’t prosecute.
2021 Journalism Awards
First Place
Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times
In one of the last places to likely see coronavirus, disaster prep is a way of life
Second Place
Jeffrey Sharlet, GEN
‘Patriotic Education’ is how white supremacy survives
Third Place
Adelle Banks, Religion News Service
Stacey Abrams’ passion for voting began with her preacher parents
2020 Journalism Awards
First Place
Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mennonites, Amish face growing recognition of widespread sexual abuse in their communities
Second Place
Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times
Sikh drivers are transforming U.S. trucking. Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway
Third Place
Kalpana Jain, The Conversation
Good wives, good soldiers: Durga Vahini women take up arms to protect Hindu identity
2019 Journalism Awards
First Place
Ian Johnson, Freelancer
#MeToo in the Monastery: A Chinese Abbot’s Fall Stirs Questions on Buddhism’s Path
Second Place
Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, Global Sisters Report
Michael Brown's death still galvanizes anti-racism efforts in Ferguson
Third Place
Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Exclusive: Former papal abuse commissioners want re-evaluation of group
2018 Journalism Awards
First Place
Daniel Burke, CNN
Roy Moore, Jerusalem and LGBT rights: Why is religion so divisive?
Second Place
Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service
Meet the clergy who stared down white supremacists in Charlottesville
Third Place
Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News
Serving God by suing others: Inside the Christian conservative legal movement
2017 Journalism Awards
First Place
Ariel Sabar, writing for the Atlantic and Smithsonian
The Unbelievable Tale of Jesus's Wife
Second Place
Rachel Zoll, Associated Press
Divided America: Evangelicals Feel Alienated, Anxious
Third Place
Ruth Graham, writing for the New York Times Magazine and Slate
The Professor Wore a Hijab in Solidarity—Then Lost Her Job
2016 Journalism Awards
First Place
Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, Global Sisters Report
Human Trafficking in the US: Sisters' Networks and Ministries Break the Cycle One Life at a Time
Second Place
Betsy Hiel, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Egypt's Churches Charred to Shells
Third Place
Daniel Burke, CNN
The Pope's Dark Night of the Soul
2015 Journalism Awards
First Place
Elizabeth Dias, Time
Meet the Lawyers Fighting for Religious Freedom Today Before the Supreme Court
Second Place
Daniel Burke, CNN
How to Really Measure the 'Francis Effect'
Third Place
David Ovalle, Miami Herald
As Santería Grows and Evolves, the Increasing Focus on Africa Opens Rifts Among the Sects
2014 Journalism Awards
First Place
Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune
Plight of the ERMs
Second Place
Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post
Family Undertaking: Home Funerals Add Intimacy to the Grieving Ritual
Third Place
Matthew Brown, Deseret News
Supreme Court Ruling 50 Years Ago Set Modern Course for Religion in Public Schools
2013 Journalism Awards
First Place
Jaweed Kaleem, Huffington Post
Buddhism's Race Problem: Buddhist 'People of Color Sanghas'
Second Place
Jessica Ravitz, CNN.com
Crossing the Plains and Kicking Up Dirt, a New Mormon Pioneer
Third Place
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, writing for the Christian Science Monitor
The New Face of Faith
2012 Journalism Awards
First Place
Sarah Breger, Moment Magazine
A Priest Bears Witness
Second Place
Brett Buckner, writing for the Anniston (Ala.) Star
Mormons Rising
Third Place
Daniel Burke, Religion News Service
They're baaack! What's Behind the Return of the Exorcist?
2011 Journalism Awards
First Place
John Blake, CNN.com
Black preachers who 'whoop' -- minstrels or ministers?
Second Place
Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com
Amid furor, 'ground zero mosque' imam leans on interfaith crisis management team
Third Place
Jason Berry, writing for the National Catholic Reporter
Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican
2010 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Daniel Burke, Religion News Service
From the Depths
Second Place
Todd Jones, Columbus Dispatch
Answering the Call: Day One
Third Place
Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
Faith and Good Works
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
Origin of Debate
Second Place
John Dart, Christian Century
Study Process Aided ELCA Gay Breakthrough
Third Place
Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
Stem Cell Future
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
David Gibson, PoliticsDaily.com
Queen Esther's Legacy
Second Place
Tracey O'Shaughnessy, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
Faith finds some but loses others
Third Place
Joel Engardio, WashingtonPost.com and USA Today
Our Gay Christian Neighbors
2009 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Laurie Goodstein, New York Times
Divine Recruits
Second Place
Barbara Bradley Hagerty, National Public Radio
Obama's Religious Rhetoric Puts Faith in the Spotlight
Third Place
Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
Here's the church, but where are the people?
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Tracy Simmons, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
Connecticut Nun and Ethicist Addresses Sexual Taboos
Second Place
Brad A. Greenberg, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
L.A.'s Defenders of Israel
Third Place
Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
Called into the presence of God
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
David Gibson, Star-Ledger of New Jersey and Wall Street Journal
Vestments are more than just clothes for the pope
Second Place
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
Academic philosophers need to speak again of God
Third Place
Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today
The evangelicals you don't know
2008 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Manya Brachear, Chicago Tribune
Race is Sensitive Subtext in Campaign
Second Place
Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal
Borrowed Ideas
Third Place
Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
A House Divided
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Lee Lawrence, Christian Science Monitor
Military Chaplains: A Presbyterian Pastor Patrols With His Flock of Soldiers in Iraq
Second Place
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor
Social Conservatives Rally an Investor Army
Third Place
Brad A. Greenberg, Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
Does Hollywood Give Jewish?
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Mohamad Bazzi, The Nation and Newsday
Muqtada al-Sadr’s Power Grab
Second Place
William McKenzie, Dallas Morning News
In the Age of the Public Intellectual, Theologians Have a Role to Play
Third Place
Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
Why the Force is Still With Us
2007 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Jennifer Green, Ottawa Citizen
The Education of David Jeffrey
Second Place
Jennifer Garza, Sacramento Bee
Bridging the Divide
Third Place
Omar Sacirbey, Freelancer, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
The Clash
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Jason Byassee, Christian Century
I was in Prison
Second Place
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Christian Science Monitor
A Gospel's Rocky Path
Third Place
Adam Parker, Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina, USA)
March Is Act of Remembrance
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
Age of Terror, Age of Illusions
Second Place
Asra Q. Nomani, Freelancer, Morgantown, West Virgina, USA
Clothes Aren't the Issue
Third Place
Kevin Eigelbach, Cincinnati Post
Kinsey Blamed for Ills of Society
2006 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Charles A. Radin, Boston Globe
Two Visions of Faith Collide
Second Place
Robert Sibley, Ottawa Citizen
The Way of Shikoku: A Pilgrim's Lot
Third Place
John Blake, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back from the Abyss
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Jean Gordon, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.)
It Will Just Make Me More Spiritual
Second Place
Brett Buckner, Anniston (Ala.) Star
Staring into the Void: God and the Holocaust
Third Place
Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald
Family Tree Tied to Forgotten Genocide
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Naomi Schaefer Riley, Wall Street Journal
The Hard Sell
Second Place
Tracey O’Shaughnessy, Republican-American (Waterbury, Conn.)
Evolution Debate has Regressed
Third Place
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
Iraqi Conflict a Sectarian Civil War
2005 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Kimberly Winston, freelance, Pinole, Calif.
Did “The Passion” Fulfill its Promise?
Second Place
Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
Ritual Provides a Place to Contain Pain
Third Place
David Van Biema, Time
Found in Translation
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Linda Leicht, News-Leader, Springfield, Mo.
Debating Life’s Origins: Teachers Struggle to Learn and Present Evolution and Creationism
Second Place
Burton Bollag, Chronicle of Higher Education
Can God See the Future?
Third Place
John Dart, Christian Century
Attenders, Not Members: Join the church? Well…
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Steven Waldman, Beliefnet
The Real Reasons Evangelicals Love Bush
Second Place
Tracey O’Shaughnessy, Sunday Republican (Waterbury, Conn.)
Singling Out Kerry Does the Church Harm
Third Place
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
Having More, Enjoying it Less
2004 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Laurie Goodstein, New York Times
Seeing Islam as ‘Evil Faith’: Evangelicals Seek Converts
Second Place
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service
Behind America’s rush to memorialize death
Third Place
Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune
Hard-hit town enlists clergy’s aid
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
John Dart, Christian Century
Can Hollywood teach and inspire? Reel Faith
Second Place
Julie Marshall, Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
A Matter of Duty: Anti-war beliefs could not be ignored, say conscientious objectors
Third Place
Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor
Shaping the Future of Marriage
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun
The Dutch way of doing things
Second Place
Steven Waldman, Beliefnet
Don’t Pray American
Third Place
Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
Crucible for Islam
2003 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Susan Hogan/Albach, Dallas Morning News
The Gay Divide
Second Place (tie)
Sharon Boase, Hamilton Spectator (Canada)
Retiring McMaster Theologian's Theory of God's Love Ruffles Evangelical Feathers
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Religion News Service
Rethinking Religious Tolerance
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Deb Richardson-Moore, Greenville (SC) News
Local Kurds United against Saddam: Simpsonville Offers Young Families a Future on a Street 'that God Built'
Second Place
Maya Kremen, Herald News (West Patterson, NJ)
Spirits of the dead: Palo Mayombe, a mixture of African and Catholic beliefs, stirs controversy
Third Place
Julie Marshall, Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Death and healing: First ‘patients’ teach students about medicine, compassion in cadaver lab
Contest for Opinion Writing
First Place
Deborah Caldwell, Beliefnet
How Islam Bashing Got Cool: President Bush no Longer Seems Able to Restrain Anti-Islamic Rhetoric
Second Place
Kenneth Woodward, Newsweek
In the Beginning, There Were the Holy Books
Third Place
Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
Where Church and State Are One: How long can Saudi Arabia’s puritanical version of Islam survive?
2002 Journalism Awards
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with over 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Peter Smith, Louisville Courier-Journal
Cane Ridge Meeting House: 1801 Revival Reverberates today
Second Place
Michael Paulson, Boston Globe
On Ash Wednesday, A Wider Observance
Third Place
Dave Gibson, (Newark) Star-Ledger
Losing the Holy War; No Hope in Faith-based Programs
Contest for Journalists at News Outlets with under 100,000 Circulation
First Place
Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education
3 Theologians Face a Dilemma for Themselves, Their Colleges, and the Church
Second Place
John Dart, Christian Century
Simpsons Have Soul
Third Place
Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor
Morality and War
Contest for Opinion Writing
Winner Deborah Caldwell, Beliefnet
The Rumor: A Surprising Number of Muslims Are Asking Whether Israel Was behind the Attacks
2001 Journalism Awards
Over 100,000 circulation
Richard N. Ostling, Associated Press
Under 100,000 circulation
Rhonda Parks Manville, Santa Barbara News-Press
Opinion Writing
Bill Tammeus, Kansas City Star
2000 Journalism Awards
First Place
Carol McGraw, Orange County Register
Second Place
Bill Broadway, Washington Post
Third Place
Bruce Bryant-Friedland, Florida Times-Union