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The Henry Luce Foundation awarded grants to Religion News Service to expand immigration coverage and launch a digital atlas of faith, migration, and belonging.
NEW YORK — Religion News Service (RNS) announced today that it received two grants totaling more than $1 million from the Henry Luce Foundation to launch a multimedia news hub focused on faith and immigrant communities.
A leading nonprofit outlet for in-depth U.S. and global religion news, RNS received an initial $300,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation last summer to support Global Faiths, Local Stories, a reporting initiative focused on religion and immigration in local communities. A second grant of $750,000 will build on that work by supporting the launch of An Atlas of American Belonging, a multimedia journalism project that curates and connects reporting on how belonging is claimed, granted, challenged, and denied at the intersection of faith and migration. Pamela Kruger, an experienced journalist and communications leader, was hired to lead the initiative.
The Atlas is designed as a civic resource and public record, bringing together deeply reported articles, video, and audio journalism into a digital platform that allows readers to see patterns across time and place, apart from the daily news cycle. With America’s 250th anniversary approaching in 2026, debates over faith, immigration, and national identity have intensified across the country. Faith communities are often on the front lines of these debates — offering refuge, navigating immigration enforcement systems, shaping public discourse, and wrestling internally with questions of responsibility and belonging. The Luce grants will significantly expand RNS’s ability to illuminate these dynamics through sustained, collaborative reporting.
“Immigration has always been central to American debates over belonging, culture, and democracy,” said Deborah Caldwell, Publisher and CEO of Religion News Service. “The Atlas of American Belonging is designed to be a lasting civic resource — an ongoing curation of journalism that helps the public understand how faith and migration continue to shape and challenge who belongs in America, not just for the 250th anniversary, but in the years beyond.”
As part of the initiative, RNS plans to pilot partnerships with up to three nonprofit regional and local news organizations. Reporting produced through these hubs will be co-published with partner outlets and distributed nationally through RNS’s partners, including AP and NPR, as well as RNS-owned channels.
The grants will also support a series of live virtual convenings focused on faith and migration, bringing together journalists, scholars, and community leaders to reflect on emerging patterns and challenges.
Founded in 1934, the Religion News Service is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to reporting on religion, spirituality, and belief across all traditions. RNS reaches more than one million readers each month through its website, newsletters, podcasts, and social platforms, and its journalism reaches millions more through partnerships with NPR, AP and more than 1,200 outlets worldwide.
The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.
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Contact:
Trish Rodriguez Terrell
Chief Development Officer
[email protected]