RD’s Patricia Miller Wins “Science for Religion Reporters” Award

We are thrilled to announce that RD Senior Correspondent Patricia Miller has been honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The publisher of Science magazine, AAAS is a 167-year old non-profit organization whose mission is “to advance science for the benefit of all people.”

At the AAAS 2016 Annual Meeting in February, Miller will be one of eight outstanding journalists and broadcasters presented with the first Science for Religion Reporters Award. The award was created by the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) with the goal of providing “religion journalists opportunities for exposure to forefront science, enriching science communication with their audiences.”

Here at RD, we’re also excited that DoSER’s review panel for the award has chosen to highlight the work of women journalists—all 8 of the 2016 honorees are women.

Miller writes at the intersection of politics, sex, and religion. During a contentious year of debates surrounding religion and women’s reproductive rights, her work has helped ensure that science is given its proper due in the national conversation. In 2015, Miller provided diligent critique of Pope Francis’ comments about women and sex as well as HIV/AIDS, rigorous exposition on the ban on tubal ligations by the Catholic guidelines for health services, and an unsparing look at religious exemptions—particularly for Catholic health care institutions—and their implications for women’s reproductive options.