Tom Gjelten
Tom Gjelten reports on religion, faith, and belief for NPR News, a beat that encompasses such areas as the changing religious landscape in America, the formation of personal identity, the role of religion in politics, and conflict arising from religious differences. His reporting draws on his many years covering national and international news from posts in Washington and around the world.
In 1986, Gjelten became one of NPR's pioneer foreign correspondents, posted first in Latin America and then in Central Europe. Over the next decade, he covered social and political strife in Central and South America, the first Gulf War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the transitions to democracy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
His reporting from Sarajevo from 1992 to 1994 was the basis for his book Sarajevo Daily: A City and Its Newspaper Under Siege (HarperCollins), praised by the New York Times as "a chilling portrayal of a city's slow murder." He is also the author of Professionalism in War Reporting: A Correspondent's View (Carnegie Corporation) and a contributor to Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (W. W. Norton).
After returning from his overseas assignments, Gjelten covered U.S. diplomacy and military affairs, first from the State Department and then from the Pentagon. He was reporting live from the Pentagon at the moment it was hit on September 11, 2001, and he was NPR's lead Pentagon reporter during the early war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. Gjelten has also reported extensively from Cuba in recent years. His 2008 book, Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause (Viking), is a unique history of modern Cuba, told through the life and times of the Bacardi rum family. The New York Times selected it as a "Notable Nonfiction Book," and the Washington Post, Kansas City Star, and San Francisco Chronicle all listed it among their "Best Books of 2008." His latest book, A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story (Simon & Schuster), published in 2015, recounts the impact on America of the 1965 Immigration Act, which officially opened the country's doors to immigrants of color. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other outlets.
Since joining NPR in 1982 as labor and education reporter, Gjelten has won numerous awards for his work, including two Overseas Press Club Awards, a George Polk Award, and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he began his professional career as a public school teacher and freelance writer.
-
He was one of six Catholics on the court and the most outspoken about his faith. But he said "the only article in faith that plays any part in my judging is the commandment 'Thou Shalt Not Lie.' " -
The split dates from when Christianity first spread through the Roman Empire. Friday's meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill is the culmination of longstanding efforts to promote dialogue. -
For an American Muslim woman, deciding whether or not to wear the headscarf — or hijab — isn't a choice to be taken lightly. -
This week's Marrakesh Declaration is the latest effort to dissociate Islam from ISIS and other jihadist groups. But will the declaration be heeded? Similar efforts have had limited effect.
-
Christian conservatives say their greatest religious rival is secularism, which is growing among Americans. Banning acts like school prayer, they say, amounts to favoring the "religion of secularism." -
Republican presidential candidates decry what they call a "war on faith." Religious conservatives say they face anti-Christian bigotry. But the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment reveals a double standard. -
American Muslims feel unfairly maligned, singled out and asked to do more than others when it comes to terrorism. -
Conservatives who want to emphasize America's Christian roots embrace the story of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact. But some historians say their role in the country's founding is overstated. -
A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that the percentage of Americans who say they believe in God, pray daily and attend church regularly is declining. -
The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the doors to nationalities that were largely shut out before. Since then, 90 percent of U.S. immigrants hail from outside Europe. Three families share their stories.
