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Feel free to jump straight to the list, but I can’t resist a few quick notes:
• I’m wrapping up five years since launching Plug-in. This column goes to nearly 10,000 subscribers via email before it’s published on the Religion Unplugged homepage. I’m so grateful for everyone who reads and shares Plug-in.
• Many of the journalists who provided links found it difficult to pick just one. Several submitted multiple possibilities and asked me to choose, which I was happy to do. For the record, Menachem Wecker was not among those journalists. “Having been called out last year for filing 10, here’s just one for this year,” he quipped in his email. Thank you for making me smile, my friend! I allowed more than one link from only one writer: Clemente Lisi. He is Religion Unplugged’s executive editor and the boss, after all!
• Religion News Association members picked Donald Trump’s re-election as 2024’s top domestic story and the Israel-Hamas War as the top international story. Many of the pieces below relate to those major headlines and others cited by RNA.
• A confession before we get to our list: I started this year-end approach a few years ago as a way to do a quick, easy post during the holidays. What in the world was I thinking? The reality is that this takes much longer than a normal Plug-in, but that’s OK. I am truly blessed to connect with my fellow journalists and share their best work.
Enjoy!
Inside The Godbeat
Journalists who write about religion pick their top story of 2024.
• Liam Adams, The Tennessean: Coverage of the shifting landscape for LGBTQ+ people in the United Methodist Church, including this story from Nashville, published March 7.
• Adrian Ashford, Dallas Morning News: Child sex abuse allegations divide family behind Daystar Television Network from Dallas, published Dec. 13.
• Cheryl Mann Bacon, Christian Chronicle: Imperfect storms: Flood of insurance cancellations wreaks financial challenges for churches in Texas, Louisiana and beyond, published Jan. 22.
• Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service: Black America’s ‘twin pillars’ partner to boost vote, published Oct. 31.