Cathleen Falsani

Cathleen Falsani is a religion journalist, photojournalist, and author whose work explores the intersection of faith and popular culture. She holds master's degrees in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and in theological studies from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and is an alumna of Wheaton College. Falsani has served as a Divinity School Media Fellow at Duke University, a Gralla Fellow in Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, and the Stoody-West Fellow in Religious Journalism.

Falsani joined the Chicago Sun-Times as its religion reporter and later served as its religion columnist for a decade, contributing to coverage of American religion. Her work has appeared in media outlets including Washington Post, CNN, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone, Toronto Star, TheAtlantic.com, Sojourners, TIME.com, Christianity Today, and Harvard Divinity School Bulletin. As a reporter, columnist, commentator, editor, and essayist, Falsani has covered religion and spirituality from locations such as Vatican City, Vedic City, Ireland, Germany, Japan, the Caribbean, the West Wing, the Playboy Mansion, and the dugout at Wrigley Field. She conducted an interview with Barack Obama during his tenure as a state senator from Illinois and as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, focusing on his religious beliefs and spiritual perspectives.

Falsani is the author of several nonfiction books, including "The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People," a collection of 32 spiritual profiles of public figures such as Bono, Elie Wiesel, Anne Rice, and Hakeem Olajuwon. The Christian Science Monitor named it among the best nonfiction books of the year. She also wrote "Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace," a spiritual memoir and travelogue, and "The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers." Falsani co-edited "Disquiet Time: Rants and Reflections on the Good Book by the Skeptical, the Faithful and a Few Scoundrels" and "The End of Hunger: Renewed Hope for Feeding the World." In addition to covering religion in the United States and abroad, Falsani has written extensively about global poverty, AIDS and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and issues affecting the developing world.

Falsani has been recognized as the James O. Supple Religion Writer of the Year by the Religion Newswriters Association, has twice been a finalist for its Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year award, and has received the Peter J. Lisagor Award for Feature Writing from the Press Club of Chicago. Falsani's writing and photography appear on her Substack, "This Numinous World." As a public speaker, she has presented lectures, talks, and workshops at colleges, universities, civic organizations, women's groups, houses of worship, and faith-based, artistic, and literary gatherings nationwide. Falsani specializes in contemporary religion and culture, grassroots spiritual trends, and public theology, offering analysis of both external events and internal experiences.