November 2025
SCREEN SHOTS: The New York Times
One of the most influential newspapers in the world, The New York Times, has committed to more coverage to a topic it has historically underreported: spirituality.
This fall, The New York Times launched a weekly newsletter called Believing, covering “how faith shapes our politics, culture and society — and how it’s appearing in new forms.” The publication was prompted by subscriber interest. The paper ran a series of articles earlier in the year about how people experience religion and spirituality today. Afterwards, thousands of readers asked for more coverage.
“You wanted us to expand our reporting on how ancient ideas are appearing in our very modern lives. You wanted a space for both believers and nonbelievers to share their stories,” the editors wrote when introducing the newsletter. “You wanted, above all, for us to take the subject seriously. We agree.”
Initial editions of Believing have learned toward coverage of established religions, and spirituality as reflected in the world of art and entertainment. Major pieces have looked at the faith of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim leader; how Palestinians and Israelis have been grappling with faith; and how religious violence can prompt victims to become more religious.
But the aim is broad: “The mission of Believing is to speak about the sacred, in all its forms, in a very secular space,” said NYT reporter Lauren Jackson, the London-based host of the newsletter, in an announcement.
The company has been expanding its scope in recent years as topics formerly considered on the fringe have become mainstream interest.
In its news coverage and on its Opinion page, NYT reporters and columnists already have begun reporting on such issues as UAPs, Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), psychedelics, and the wellness benefits of meditation and mindfulness.
In fact, the NYT helped give UAP inquiries more credibility. In 2017 the paper broke a story about a secret Pentagon program investigating UAP/UFOs, which helped prompt a series of public congressional hearings. The paper has followed the issue since then, giving cover to long-time investigators, sparking new interest among scientists, and expanding the scope of the inquiry.
In July, Times columnist Ross Douthat interviewed religion and UAP scholar Diana Walsh Pasulka, whose research has connected modern UAP experiences with accounts found in Vatican archives, and more broadly with encounters with “bodhisattvas, angels, demons — things like that” in all religious traditions. A professor at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Pasulka said her UAP research jolted her out of her previous strictly rationalist worldview.
Upon the death of prominent NDE explorer Peter Fenwick in January of this year, NYT devoted several articles to his life and work. Fenwick was a British neuropsychiatrist, consciousness researcher, and former president of The Science and Medical Network. The coverage included a lengthy article on readers’ own NDEs.
The Gray Lady, as NYT traditionally is known, has remained decidedly cautious in coverage of many cutting edge topics at the border of science and spirituality which academic and independent researchers around the world have been exploring for several decades. The Believing newsletter shows the paper’s worldview — and/or that of its audience — is evolving.
Written by Tom Zolper
Edited by Liza Horan
