Contributed By Greta Burroughs

When freelance writers think about faith-based publications to write for they usually concentrate on Christian magazines and blogs. There are many to choose from, and the content they want varies from short devotionals to in-depth reporting. You can find something to fit every writer’s comfort zone.

But why not try something different?  There are other religious magazines and blogs to consider as well. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Atheism – all faiths have a voice and message they wish to share. Just like with Christian publications, there is no requirement to belong to a certain religion to write for these platforms. What they want are quality, well thought-out articles that will resonate with their readers.

Following are 12 faith-based publications looking for freelance writers. The rates vary according to the type of article, and there are several publications who negotiate pay after assigning a story.

1. Lion’s Roar (Buddhist) sheds a contemplative light on every part of life: from politics to relationships, money to monasticism.They are looking for content that represents a multitude of traditions, ages, abilities, and interests, with a progressive approach to matters of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and physical challenges. Submissions are accepted for the website, magazine and for Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly. The guidelines https://www.lionsroar.com/submissions/ for all three venues are detailed on the submissions page. Rates vary according to assignments.

2. Tricycle accepts article submissions on a rolling basis. They believe there is a Buddhist approach to anything and everything. They ask that you send work that reflects your knowledge and interests rather than trying to anticipate Tricycle’s. It would be helpful to browse their website to get a sense of their current content. They prefer short manuscripts (less than 4000 words), query first. According to an assistant editor, “We do not have a single standard rate for freelance writers; our contracts vary depending upon a number of factors.” Submission guidelines https://tricycle.org/contact/
3. Hinduism Today welcomes anyone to contribute to this educational and informative magazine. It is an international quarterly magazine featuring articles concerning timely events, human interest stories, profiles, interviews, trend analysis, social issues, lifestyle pieces, cultural explorations, travel-log and special feature reporting. It is not necessary that contributing writers be Hindu, but that they empathize with Hindu thought, practices and culture.

   Story topics and word counts are specified in the writer’s guidelines https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/wfchannel/index.php?wfc_cid=7

   Accompanying photo is necessary to go with the story. Query first. Pay is 10 cents per word and $20 for each published photo.

4. The Arizona Muslim Voice is a newspaper that covers news and events around Arizona. They do not have a submission guideline page but are actively looking for freelance writers who have experience writing articles, conducting interviews, and can meet deadlines. There is an email address listed at the bottom of the contact page https://azmuslimvoice.wordpress.com/contact-us/ to send a resume.
5. The Islamic Monthly (TIM) is an independent, nonreligious, U.S. based hybrid print and digital publication that fosters discussion on a broad range of issues and concerns related to the modern world. “We provide no lens or filters by which news is conveyed, but rather offer insightful social, political and cultural commentaries limitless in topic by writers of all backgrounds.”

   They accept articles, fiction/nonfiction stories, and audio recording. Query first for articles. Payment varies. Submission guidelines http://www.theislamicmonthly.com/submission-guidelines/

6. Muslim-Science.com accepts features, news, opinion pieces, interviews and book reviews. Pays up to $100. The pieces must reflect upon the past, present, or future state of the Muslim world and cover one (or more) broad themes of science or technology. Complete editorial and writing guidelines http://muslim-science.com/write-for-us/ are provided and they want a pitch before writing the article.
7. Al-jazeera English website is one of the better known outlets giving ‘a voice to the voiceless’. They receive over 100 pitches a week, and claim that all queries are looked over and carefully considered. They have a detailed submission page https://medium.com/@ajlabs/how-to-pitch-to-al-jazeera-com-da2f9fe45489 explaining what makes features, long-read interactives, photo-essays or videos stand out and tell the story they want. There is also a page http://whopayswriters.com/#/publication/aljazeera-english that lists their rates, averaging 46 cents per word.
8. Tablet is a daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas and culture that welcomessubmissionswww.tabletmag.com/about from freelance writers. Please submit a full pitch—including a detailed description of what you’d like to write, a brief biography, links to previously published stories, and, if necessary, a short writing sample—to the appropriate section editor. Pay varies.
9. The Jewish Press.com is the largest independent weekly Jewish newspaper in the United States offering a mix of Jewish news, political and religious commentary, the largest Jewish classifieds, and special features. There is a form http://www.jewishpress.com/submit-article/ to submit your article directly to the magazine without a query. Payment varies.
10. Forward provides political and cultural coverage on topics relevant to the American Jewish community. Detailed submission guidelines https://forward.com/contact/? are given for culture, news and opinion pieces. According to itscontributor’s page,“Fees differ depending on the intended medium, section and the work in question.”
11. Freedom is the voice of the Church of Scientology. Their aim is to seek out and illuminate society’s problems by addressing issues, not politics. They are currently looking for investigative reporters and the instructions for contacting them are here. https://www.freedommag.org/write.html Payment varies.
12. The Humanist is a social issues-oriented bimonthly that applies the philosophy of humanism to broad areas of social, political, and personal concern.They accept unsolicited articles as well as queries for features and back of the magazine columns. It is a non-profit magazine, so payment is minimal, but it states in the writer’s guidelines, “Our articles are frequently discovered by book and magazine editors who contact us for author and reprint information.” Submission guidelines https://thehumanist.com/write-for-us/

Non-paying, but interesting:

1. Secular Nation is published by the Atheists Alliance America and accepts unsolicited submissions. Writer’s Guidelines http://www.atheistallianceamerica.org/secular-nation-magazine/secular-nation-submission-guidelines/
2. The Skeptic is published by the Skeptic Society to promote science and critical thinking. A very long list of possible topics is given in the Writer’s Guidelines https://www.skeptic.com/magazine/contribute/
3. The Eloquent Atheist is seeking personal essays, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction about atheism, humanism, agnosticism and free-thinking. Writer’s Guidelines http://www.eloquentatheist.com/submissions/