Joel A. Carpenter is a professor of history at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he also directs the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity. He also is the former religion officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts and former director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicalism.

Asma Afsaruddin is chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Indiana.

Read a story from the June 26, 2001, Village Voice about the involvement of black women in Buddhism.

Helping Hand is an Islamic global humanitarian relief and development organization that focuses on Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Kenya and Iraq. Its American office is in Detroit.

Read an Aug. 8, 2002, article on Beliefnet.com (reprinted from The Dallas Morning News) about a Buddhist summer program for children, a kind of Buddhist version of Vacation Bible School.

Read a commentary from MyJewishLearning.com by Ira Rifkin, about Jews who are attracted to Buddhism (some call them JuBus).

The Islamic Medical Association of North America aims to provide a forum and resource for Muslim physicians and other health-care professionals, to promote a greater awareness of Islamic medical ethics and values among Muslims and the community at large, to provide humanitarian and medical relief and to be an advocate in health-care policy.

Mark Bailey is president of the Dallas Theological Seminary and a noted expert on Christian End Times scenarios. He is the author of essays in the books Countdown to Armageddon (Harvest House, 1999) and The Road to Armageddon (Word, 1999).

Winter/spring 2000 Georgetown Journal of International Affairs article which looked at the impact of religion on American foreign policy.