Wilbur Awards
Over 70 Years of Recognizing Excellence in the Communication of Religious Issues, Values, and Themes in Public Media
Since 1949, the Wilbur Awards have been presented annually to recognize excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in public secular media. Through the awards, the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) recognizes the work of individuals, production companies and agencies as they communicate about religious issues, values and themes with professionalism, fairness, respect and honesty. Past winners include Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Pauley, Mister Rogers, CBS Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Meet the Press, Vanity Fair, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the New York Times.
The Wilbur Award honors Marvin C. Wilbur, a pioneer in the field of religious public relations. Each Wilbur stained glass trophy is individually hand-crafted. An eloquent thank you for excellent work!
2020 Wilbur Awards Sponsor
We are honored to have the Wilbur Awards for 2020 underwritten by Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa, OK.
The seminary, at its core, is a community of teachers and learners seeking to be faithful to God through disciplined, reasoned and reflective study of scripture, religious tradition and human experience. We offer courses online and on-campus with students across the U.S. and abroad.
Previous Winners
2020-present
Recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media.
2021
2021 Wilbur Awards Program & Winners
2020
2012-2019
Recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media.
2019
2019 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2019 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2019 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2018
2018 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2018 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2018 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2017
2017 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2017 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2016
2016 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2016 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2016 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2015
2015 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2015 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2015 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2014
2014 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2014 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2014 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2013
2013 Wilbur Awards Program and Winners
2013 Wilbur Award Ceremony Photos
2012
2003-2011
Recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media.
2011
2011 Wilbur Award Acceptance Videos
2011 Wilbur Award Ceremony Photos
2010
2010 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2009
2009 Wilbur Awards Ceremony Photos
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
1992-2002
Recognizing excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in secular media.
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1992
Shirley Struchen and Andy Rawls Provide Leadership for the Wilbur Awards Program
Shirley Struchen, RCC Executive Director since 2001, is coordinator of the 2020 Wilbur Awards.
Dr. Andrew “Andy” B. Rawls, former director of media services at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is producer of the 2020 Wilbur Awards event for the 30th year. He received a “Special Wilbur” in 2012 as Producer Extraordinaire for his many years of creatively producing the RCC Wilbur Program.
Want to check out some of the previous Wilbur Awards presentations again? Go to the RCC YouTube Channel to see the award presentations.
Many thanks to Andy Rawls, Wilbur Awards producer, for preparing all the video clips highlighting the introduction to each award and excerpts from the acceptance remarks!