Richard Ostling is an American author and journalist living in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958, He and his wife, the late Joan K. Ostling, are the co-authors of ''Mormon America: The Power and the Promise'' (1999; revised ed. 2007).
Richard Ostling
Richard N. Ostling (born July 14, 1940, in
Endicott, New York
Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B. Endicott, a founding member of the End ...
) is a journalist who reports on religious topics. He was a senior correspondent for ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' and president of the
Religion Newswriters Association
The Religion News Association (RNA) is an American non-profit professional association which seeks to promote better reporting on religion in the news media and to provide help and support to journalists who cover religion. It was founded in 1949 a ...
. Once a senior editor of ''
The Michigan Daily
''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...
'', he graduated
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and holds master's degrees in journalism (
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
) and religion (
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
) along with an honorary
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
degree from Gordon College. He is listed in Who's Who in America.
He has conducted religious interviews on at least four continents.
Richard Ostling previously reported for the '' Morning News and Evening Journal'' and '' Christianity Today'' as well as once being the chief religion writer for the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, where he spent eight years.
In over 27 years at ''Time'', he has written a number of cover stories. He has broadcast on CBS Radio. He has reported regularly for The NewsHour with
Jim Lehrer
James Charles Lehrer (; May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. Lehrer was the executive editor and a news anchor for the ''PBS NewsHour'' on PBS and was known for his role as a de ...
. Over the course of his career, he has interviewed several notable religious figures such as
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
, the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
, the late
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...
and Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
(later Pope Benedict XVI). He authored many of the ''Time'' magazine stories on the rise of
fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...
,
Jim Bakker
James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted fraudster. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program '' The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with ...
Bernard Nathanson
Bernard N. Nathanson (July 31, 1926 – February 21, 2011) was an American medical doctor and co-founder, in 1969, of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), later renamed NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Abortion Rig ...
, of ''Aborting America: A History of the Abortion Rights Movement in the United States''.
Richard Ostling and his wife had two children, Margaret and Elizabeth.
The Center for Religious Inquiry has called Richard Ostling "one of the most distinguished and honored writers on religion in America." A review in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called ''Mormon America: The Power and the Promise'' "eminently fair, well researched and exhaustive." "His distinctions include a Pulitzer Prize nomination; the American Academy of Religion, Supple and Templeton prizes; and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Religion Newswriters Association."
Joan Ostling
Joan K. Ostling (June 29, 1939 – January 11, 2009) was an assistant professor of English and journalism at
Nyack College
Alliance University (formerly Nyack College ()) is a private Christian college affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and located in New York, New York. Enrolling just over 1,000 students, the school is organized in three academ ...
, as well as having taught at several other evangelical colleges. She also co-authored a comprehensive bibliography of books by and about C. S. Lewis. Joan Ostling earned master's degrees in English and political science, and was a writer and editor for the US Information Agency in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
.
Joan Ostling died of
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
on January 11, 2009 at her home in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Patheos
Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives.
Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning abou ...