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)
Stories By

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

Saturday

A longer Advent helps some Christians prepare for more than Christmas

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1215188317/1215188806" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Traditionally, Christians celebrate the season of Advent during the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. But some are expanding the observance to seven weeks for practical and religious reasons. RaseL Shoubi/Getty hide caption

toggle caption
RaseL Shoubi/Getty

A longer Advent helps some Christians prepare for more than Christmas

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1213555198/1214619421" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Sunday

Vatican removes Texas bishop critical of Pope Francis' reforms

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1212534824/1212534825" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Friday

Wednesday

Jewish man dies of injuries after an altercation with pro-Palestinian protesters

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1211459962/1211459963" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Some religious leaders say they're struggling to navigate Israel-Hamas crisis

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1208345378/1208368790" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

People are wary of expressing their views on the Israel-Gaza to support either side

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1207863817/1207863818" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

U.S. mosques have been especially concerned about security since the Hamas attacks

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1207650478/1207650479" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

How U.S. synagogues have been thinking about their safety since the Hamas attacks

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1206591813/1206601914" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

How the Muslim-Jewish interfaith movement is navigating these tense times

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1205549313/1205556278" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Some Christians want to make amends for the church's treatment of Indigenous people

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1204614257/1204625352" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Vatican gathering tackles women in ministry, LGBTQ+ Catholics

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1204454567/1204455881" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Earlier this year, the Vatican responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the "Doctrine of Discovery," which has its origins in 15th-century papal bulls, or decrees. Gregorio Borgia/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Gregorio Borgia/AP

Churches confess and repent for sins against Native and Indigenous people

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1203760200/1204015255" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Some Christians want to make amends for the church's treatment of Indigenous people

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1203982581/1203982582" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Vatican meeting considers topics from women in ministry to LGBTQ+ Catholics

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1203548033/1203548034" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The Synod on Synodality gathering at the Vatican could be defining for Pope Francis. Key agenda items include women's role in the church and welcoming divorced Catholics and LGBTQ+ Catholics. Riccardo De Luca/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Riccardo De Luca/AP

Vatican gathering tackles topics from women in ministry to LGBTQ+ Catholics

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1203312772/1203463261" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday

Among the topics of tomorrow's Vatican meeting: The possibility of women deacons

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1203404502/1203416530" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Friday

Catholic Archdioceses in California file for bankruptcy amid clergy sex abuse claims

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1196049420/1196064474" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Pastor Estrella Arquero leads Koinonia Pentecostal Church with her husband. There are at least 20 church members sleeping in the parish hall because they lost their homes in the fire. Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR

A Filipino congregation took in its own members after their Lahaina homes burned

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1194379811/1194380807" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Maui County tells tourists to come back — just stay out of the burn zone

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1194115167/1194115168" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Dr. Reza Danesh, the MODO Mobile Doctor, has been treating patients affected by the wildfires on Maui. Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Deanne Fitzmaurice for NPR

After Maui's deadly fires, one doctor hits the road to help those in need

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1193877541/1194099381" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">