Rest of World, an award-winning global nonprofit publication, has received a $100,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to support its coverage of religion and technology. 

The grant will help fund a narrative feature series about how technology is being adapted for spiritual and religious practices; how social media is fueling the rise of religious influencers; and how technology is being used to surveil and target ethnic and religious minorities. Additionally, Rest of World will produce an interactive project that illustrates how technology is changing places of worship across the globe. 

“Rest of World is thrilled to expand its reporting to tell human-centered stories of expected and unexpected ways religious communities are using technology to connect billions of worshippers around the world to their faiths. The Luce Foundation’s grant also lets us deepen our multimedia capabilities to bring these stories to life,” said Anup Kaphle, Rest of World’s editor-in-chief.

“The efforts of journalists and other media makers are essential to advancing knowledge of religion’s complex and contested place in public life, and to strengthening public understanding of both religious diversity and religious change. We are grateful for this opportunity to support Rest of World’s innovative work, through funding that will help expand attention to the ways religion and technology intersect in places and communities that are otherwise frequently disregarded,” said Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Program Director for Religion and Theology, Henry Luce Foundation.

Through its established network of local journalists outside the U.S., Rest of World will source freelance reporters and photographers to produce the series and interactive project. Next year, it will also bring those reporters to New York for an event designed to showcase their work and to advance their professional development.

About Rest of World

Rest of World challenges expectations about whose experiences with technology matter.

It connects the dots across a rapidly evolving digital world, through on-the-ground reporting in places typically overlooked and underestimated. Since its inception, the publication has produced stories from more than 100 countries guided by the belief that the story of technology is as big as the world that’s using it.

About the Henry Luce Foundation

The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world. Established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time, Inc., the Luce Foundation advances its mission by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.