Journalists, editors eligible for $5,000 scholarships for religion courses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 23, 2011

Contact: Amy Schiska

573-355-5201 ext. 3#

Schiska@RNA.org

Journalists, editors eligible for $5,000 scholarships for religion courses

Study Islam, Religion and Politics, War, Theology—on us!

(Columbia, Mo.) — RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS invites all journalists to apply to its Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program. The scholarships give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take college religion and spirituality courses.

With religion headlines taking center stage, now is the perfect time to dig deeper into today’s hottest religion stories. More than 200 people have already taken advantage of RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS’ Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program for Journalists.

Some topics reporters have studied include: Islamic Movements, God & Politics, Early Christianity and Western Culture, Religious Tradition and Scientific Inquiry, Buddhism and Science, Violence and Liberation and Religion and Medicine.

"This course (Foundations of Historical Theology) broadened my base of knowledge about Christianity.  I gained an essential foundation and basic knowledge of how Christianity was formed and the controversies that shaped its culture and teachings. I also now have new sources and story ideas to take back to the newsroom and, with hope, inform our readers.” —Melissa Evans, The Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA).

The scholarships can be used at accredited colleges, universities, seminaries or similar institutions.  Journalists can take any religion course they choose. Scholarships cover tuition, books, registration fees, parking and other course-related costs. Online and travel classes are also eligible (as long as travel costs are a part of the curriculum).

All full-time journalists—including reporters, editors, designers, copy editors, editorial writers, news directors, researchers and producers—are eligible, regardless of their beat.

The next scholarship application deadline is Oct. 1, 2011. Scholarships must be used within three academic quarters of their award date. Only full-time journalists working in the general circulation news media are eligible.

RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS is the world’s only journalism association for people who write about religion in the mainstream news media. The scholarships are offered through its non-profit arm, the Religion Newswriters Foundation, with funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Complete information about the Lilly Scholarships in Religion program is available at http://bit.ly/j8MOOg. Direct questions to Amy Schiska at 573-355-5201 ext. 3#, or Schiska@RNA.org.

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