Washington, D.C. (July 27, 2016)—The Atlantic is deepening its reporting on the role religion plays in communities across the world with the support of a two-year grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion in International Affairs. As part of this effort, The Atlantic will hire a full-time religion editor and a second journalist who—together with the publication’s journalists and freelance writers specializing in politics, national and global affairs—will convene the best conversation about global religion available today.

“At a time when religion is both a source of hope and an excuse for conflict in America and abroad, we’re eager to expand our coverage in order to help readers make sense of a changing world,” said Bob Cohn, president of The Atlantic. “This grant from the Luce Foundation allows us to chronicle the ways that religion shapes the lives of individuals and whole cultures.”

“We are delighted that The Atlantic is committed to expanding its coverage of religion in international affairs,” said Toby Alice Volkman of the Henry Luce Foundation. “We are especially pleased that our grant will support reporting on world regions that do not often receive attention in the Western media, and in ways that illuminate religion’s embeddedness in complex historical, social and political processes.”