The Rev. Leith Anderson is president of the National Association of Evangelicals and the former senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is credited with bringing Transcendental Meditation to the West. TM was a major component of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and had many celebrity adherents, including the Beatles and Mia Farrow. He died in 2008, but since 9/11, his followers have pursued “the Maharishi effect,” a power they believe can be found […]

Integrity USA is a nonprofit organization and the major national network of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Episcopalians and supports gay ordination. It is a leading grass-roots voice for the full inclusion of LGBT people in the Episcopal Church and equal access to its rites. Contact operations manager David Cupps.

Gurumayi Chidvilasananda is the leader of Siddha Yoga, which was founded by Baba Muktananda. There are ashrams and meditation centers around the world. In the U.S., there are ashrams in New York, Boston and Oakland, Calif.

Mata Amrtanandamayi Devi, also known as Ammachi or Amma, is called the “hugging saint.” Her main ashram is in New York City.

Stand Firm stands for “traditional Anglicanism in America” and tracks discussion and media coverage over religious debates including sexuality.

Read a Feb. 2, 2008, New York Times column by Peter Steinfels that analyzes the imbalance of exit polling questions on faith between Republican voters and Democratic voters.

An extensive survey, “American Evangelicals,” was released in April 2004 in connection with a May special section by U.S. News & World Report and a four-part series by the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. The survey is a comprehensive snapshot of America’s evangelical community.

See a Jan. 16, 2008, analysis of poll data from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press on religion and the electorate, with a focus on evangelicals and the GOP.