Perhaps the most prominent journalist covering religion in the United States says there will never be a shortage of good stories on his beat."This is an enduringly religious country," said Gustav Niebuhr, who covers religion for The New York Times. "Americans are always rediscovering their faith and the ways faith interacts with society."There is official separation of church and state in the United States, but never any separation of religious experience and culture."Niebuhr's keen eye and appreciation for the subtleties of a religious landscape that ranges from religious fundamentalism to the latest experiments in New Age spirituality have won him a string of prizes and, more importantly, the respect both of his colleagues in the secular press, and of staff in the religious press and in the denominations he regularly covers."Those of us in the church press depend on the integrity and professionalism of reporters like Gus Niebuhr to tell our stories, and it certainly helps when they can write with the sensitivity and skill that he has at his command," James Solheim, director of Episcopal News Service, told ENI. "He has made huge contributions to a better understanding of religion in American society."Later this month, Niebuhr will collect an award in recognition of his reporting from the Presbyterian Writers Guild which has chosen Niebuhr, aged 44, as "Distinguished Writer of the Year." Niebuhr will receive the award during the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Long Beach, California.During a recent interview at The New York Times' offices in mid-town Manhattan, Niebuhr said he was in "august company," as previous winners of the award—all members of the Presbyterian Church—included writers of fiction ...