About Richard Ostling

Richard N. Ostling was a longtime religion writer with The Associated Press and with Time magazine, where he produced 23 cover stories, as well as a Time senior correspondent providing field reportage for dozens of major articles. He has interviewed personalities such as Billy Graham, the Dalai Lama, the late Mother Teresa, and the late Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI); ranking rabbis and Muslim leaders; and authorities on other faiths, as well as numerous ordinary believers. Ostling was the first correspondent regularly covering religion for a network TV newscast, working part-time with the PBS NewsHour and airing CBS Radio religion reports for two decades. He and his late wife Joan coauthored Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (1999, revised 2007, HarperOne), which The New York Times Book Review praised as "eminently fair" and "well-researched." Professional distinctions include a Pulitzer Prize nomination; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Religion Newswriters Association (for specialists in the general media), and religion writing honors from the American Academy of Religion, Episcopal Church, and Religion Communicators Council. In one MediaGuide edition, Ostling was the only Time staff member ranked among the nation's "highest rated journalists." He is listed in Who's Who in America. Ostling earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan (With High Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.A. in religion from George Washington University, and an M.S.J. from Northwestern University's School of Journalism, which named him a charter member of its Alumni Hall of Achievement. The father of two adult daughters, he lives and works in northern New Jersey and is an active lay member of Ramapo Reformed Church.

All Posts by Richard

Women and men and the Bible and the...

PARK ASKS: What are the major scriptural passages [and interpretations] relative to... read more

God, prayer and the winner of the Super...

THIS WEEK, the question doesn’t come from a “Religion Q and A”... read more

Oh, those religious fund-raisers

GRETCHEN ASKS: (Paraphrasing) She attended a fund-raising event for an unnamed organization... read more

Are there different versions of Islam’s Quran?

DUANE ASKS: Are there different versions of the Quran or just different... read more

Happy (religious) New Year, all year long, age...

THE GUY EXPLAINS: Lacking a specific question from a reader, The Guy... read more

So which Bible version is really the most...

DUANE ASKS: There are many different versions of the Bible: King James,... read more

Concerning plastic reindeer and 'Merry Christmas' rules

MARY ASKS: What happened to saying “Merry Christmas”? Is the move to... read more

Does God hear prayers from just anyone?

ROBERT ASKS: Do you think God hears, listens to, prayers of anyone? THE... read more

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