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Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Barbara Bradley Hagerty is the religion correspondent for NPR, reporting on the intersection of faith and politics, law, science and culture. Her New York Times best-selling book, "Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality," was published by Riverhead/Penguin Group in May 2009. Among others, Barb has received the American Women in Radio and Television Award, the Headliners Award and the Religion Newswriters Association Award for radio reporting.

Before covering the religion beat, Barb was NPR's Justice Department correspondent between 1998 and 2003. Her billet included the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, Florida's disputed 2000 election, terrorism, crime, espionage, wrongful convictions and the occasional serial killer. Barbara was the lead correspondent covering the investigation into the September 11 attacks. Her reporting was part of NPR's coverage that earned the network the 2001 George Foster Peabody and Overseas Press Club awards. She has appeared on the PBS programs Washington Week and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Barb came to NPR in 1995, after attending Yale Law School on a one-year Knight Fellowship. From 1982-1993, she worked at The Christian Science Monitor as a newspaper reporter in Washington, as the Asia correspondent based in Tokyo for World Monitor (the Monitor's nightly television program on the Discovery Cable Channel) and finally as senior Washington correspondent for Monitor Radio.

Barb was graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in 1981 with a degree in economics, and has a masters in legal studies from Yale Law School.

  • The Mormon Church announced earlier this month that young women can begin their mission trips when they're 19 — two years earlier than the previous policy allowed. The shift is also a seismic change in philosophy — and sends the signal that young women have more options in planning their futures.
  • On Oct. 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII opened Vatican II, with a desire to let some fresh air into the Catholic Church. It was a revolution, especially for the nuns who were encouraged to go into the world and help the needy. But now the nuns are being censored, and a generational rift has emerged.
  • Religion figured prominently in the last two presidential races, but is virtually absent from the 2012 campaign. After invoking faith throughout his first presidential bid, President Obama now barely mentions God. Similarly, rival Mitt Romney refers to religion in only the vaguest of terms.
  • A Harvard researcher says a "new gospel" written on a fragment of papyrus shows some early Christians believed Jesus had a wife. The fragment — which scholars believe was written in the fourth century — is creating a sensation among New Testament experts.
  • Muslims are condemning the killing of the American ambassador in Libya, but say the crudely produced video that sparked the violence — The Innocence of Muslims — is breathtakingly offensive to Muslims.
  • The controversial founder of the Unification Church said Jesus spoke to him when he was 16. Sun Myung Moon said Jesus wanted him to fulfill his mission of creating the "true family." Moon considered himself the Messiah and was known for conducting mass weddings and attracting thousands of young followers. He was 92.
  • John Walker Lindh's lawsuit says a prison ban on group prayer violates his right to practice his religion freely. But the government argues that group prayer would allow the prisoners to undermine safety and plot together.
  • GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is beginning to open up about his Mormon faith. Will this help "humanize" him, or will it backfire in an age when most people's exposure to the Mormon faith is South Park or The Book of Mormon?
  • The views of vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan are strikingly different, but both espouse the same Catholic faith and are reaching out to Christian voters. Their views, which represent opposite wings of their religion, are a reflection of the growing divide among Catholics.
  • David Barton is not a historian. But his version of American history is wildly popular with churches, schools and the GOP. Watch video examples of Barton's messages and see how they compare with the Constitution, historical text and the Bible.