Lara Medina is an associate professor of Chicano and Chicana studies with an interest in politics and religion at California State University, Northridge. She wrote Las Hermanas: Chicana/Latina Religious-Political Activism in the U.S. Catholic Church.

John García is a research professor at the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan. His research interests are minority group politics, especially Latinos; political behavior; political mobilization; urban politics; social survey research; and public policy-health. He wrote Latino Politics in America: Community, Culture and Interests.

Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov discusses Jewish views on the concept of God’s revenge in this May 2 essay at Patheos.com.

The Dalai Lama’s aides clarified his statements on Osama bin Laden’s death and said the Buddhist leader believes bin Laden deserves “compassion.”

On May 3, 2011, the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said that while Buddhism, like most Western religions, calls for forgiveness, “Forgiveness doesn’t mean forget what happened. … If something is serious and it is necessary to take countermeasures, you have to take countermeasures.”

Read a May 4, 2011, essay in Scientific American, “Does Revenge Serve an Evolutionary Purpose?” A psychologist who studies human behavior explains the complex desire for vengeance in the context of bin Laden’s death.

Ron Sider is founder and president of Evangelicals for Social Action, which promotes Christian engagement, analysis and understanding of major social, cultural and public policy issues. He is also Distinguished Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in St. Davids, Pa. He is the author of Rich Christians in an […]

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who served in the Justice Department from 2001-03, writes in The Wall Street Journal that the successful raid vindicates the Bush administration’s interrogation policies.

A May 3, 2011, blog post rounds up news stories and religious reaction surrounding the torture issue.