Jason DeRose Jason DeRose covers religion for NPR News.
Jason DeRose at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., September 27, 2018. (photo by Allison Shelley)
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Jason DeRose

Allison Shelley/NPR
Jason DeRose at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., September 27, 2018. (photo by Allison Shelley)
Allison Shelley/NPR

Jason DeRose

Religion Correspondent, National Desk

Jason DeRose covers religion for NPR News, reporting on the ways belief shapes American public life and the ways American life shapes religious expression.

Previously, he was NPR's Western Bureau Chief, editing news coverage from Member station reporters and freelancers in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii. He also edited coverage of religion and LGBTQ+ rights for the National Desk. Earlier, he was an editor on NPR's Business Desk and on the former NPR mid-day news magazine Day to Day.

Before coming to NPR in 2008, DeRose had been a reporter and editor at Member stations in Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and Tampa. His work has won numerous awards, including from the Religion News Association, the Religion Communicators Council, the Native American Journalists Association and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.

Outside of public radio, DeRose worked as an oral history interviewer at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as a trainer at the International Center for Journalists and as a nursing home chaplain. He taught journalism ethics, radio reporting, multimedia storytelling and religion reporting at DePaul University in Chicago and at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

DeRose graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, with majors in religion and English. He holds a master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and studied religion reporting at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Story Archive

Monday

Republicans are using religious language to describe the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump & Religious Rhetoric

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Tuesday

A statue of Moses smashing the tablets of the 10 Commandments is on display in the atrium of Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. The 17-foot-tall sculpture is on loan from the Skirball Cultural Center. Jason DeRose hide caption

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Jason DeRose

Louisiana mandate stirs debate about what the 10 Commandments and their purpose

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Wednesday

In Jonathan Merritt's new book My Guncle and Me, a little boy's gay uncle helps him understand that being different makes him special. Hachette Book Group hide caption

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Hachette Book Group

Jonathan Merritt's book reminds kids what makes them different makes them special

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Sunday

Jonathan Merritt's book reminds kids what makes them different makes them special

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Tuesday

Southern Baptists are meeting in Indianapolis and they have a full agenda

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Wednesday

Pope Francis issued an apology for using a slur referring to gay men

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Tuesday

Pope Francis leaves a mass on World Children's Day at St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on May 26. Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Pope Francis apologizes for using slur referring to gay men

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Friday

Synagogue leaders and members are working to cultivate compassion for the many sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Nam Y. Huh/AP hide caption

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Nam Y. Huh/AP

Synagogues Talk About Israel-Hamas War

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Saturday

United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings

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Thursday

United Methodist Church votes to lift bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings

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Wednesday

Angie Cox, left, and Joelle Henneman hug after an approval vote at the United Methodist Church General Conference that repealed their church's longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings. Chris Carlson/AP hide caption

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Chris Carlson/AP

United Methodist Church lifts bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings

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Friday

Despite there being official bans on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings, many local geographic conferences of the church — especially in the U.S. — chose not to enforce them. David Goldman/AP hide caption

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David Goldman/AP

United Methodist Church begins reorganization over LGBTQ+ issues

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Tuesday

A quarter of U.S. congregations in the United Methodist Church have left the denomination as of December due to disagreements over whether to ordain LGBTQ clergy and perform same-sex weddings. Charlie Riedel/AP hide caption

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Charlie Riedel/AP

United Methodists will again debate LGBTQ clergy and same-sex weddings

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Sunday

At Sinai Temple in west Los Angeles, blue ribbon marks off more than 130 seats that stand as reminders of the hostages who remain in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel Jason DeRose hide caption

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Jason DeRose

Gaza hostages raise painful reminders as Jews prepare for Passover

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Friday

Pope Francis remains popular among U.S. Catholics, with 75% having favorable views of him, according to a Pew Research report. But many self-identified Catholics disagree with various teachings of their church. Andrew Medichini/AP hide caption

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Andrew Medichini/AP

Tuesday

Vatican says surrogacy and gender theory are 'grave threats' to human dignity

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Monday

The crowd looks in direction of the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during Pope Francis' prayer on April 1 in The Vatican. TizianaI Fabi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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TizianaI Fabi/AFP via Getty Images

The Vatican says surrogacy and gender theory are 'grave threats' to human dignity

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Tuesday

CAIR says the largest number of anti-Muslim bias reports involved employment discrimination, including companies saying they wouldn't hire people who participated in pro-Palestinian rallies. ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty hide caption

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ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

Anti-Muslim bias reports skyrocket after Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel

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Wednesday

The PRRI poll found that the vast majority of those who are unaffiliated are content to stay that way. Just 9% of respondents say they're looking for a religion that would be right for them. Hanan Isachar/Getty Images hide caption

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People say they're leaving religion due to anti-LGBTQ teachings and sexual abuse

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Friday

The Catholic Church officially opposes in vitro fertilization, yet many Catholics don't view IVF as morally wrong. Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Despite church prohibitions, Catholics still choose IVF to have children

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Monday

Muslim men listen to Imam Omar Suleiman speak at the Islamic Center of Detroit in Detroit. Paul Sancya/AP hide caption

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Muslims prepare for a more somber Ramadan due to the Israel-Hamas war

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Sunday

Muslims prepare for a more somber Ramadan due to the Israel-Hamas war

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Wednesday

A same-sex couple receives a blessing in front of Germany's Cologne Cathedral in September 2023, a few months before Pope Francis officially declared such blessings allowable. Martin Meissner/AP hide caption

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Martin Meissner/AP

Catholic Church works to explain what same-sex blessings are and are not

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