Heather A. Warfield is a professor at Antioch University New England. After a career as a mental health therapist, she pursued research on the therapeutic value of pilgrimages. In the decade since, she has delved further into what motivates people to go on pilgrimages, the stories pilgrims share and the meaning pilgrims create from their journeys.

Christophe Jaffrelot is a research fellow with the Center for International Studies and France’s National Centre for Scientific Research. His work focuses on such topics as mobilization of the lower castes and untouchables in India, the Hindu nationalist movement and ethnic conflicts in Pakistan.

The Information Network for Epidemics’ Health Emergencies Programme at the World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of working with religious communities during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and has trained religious communities and leaders on best practices to confront the all-embracing global health emergency.

Jean-Francois Mayer is a religion scholar and editor of Religioscope, a website that tracks trends in religious practice and organization. He also serves as director of the Religioscope Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland. Contact Mayer by using the form on the Religioscope website.

Martin Hägglund is a professor of comparative literature and humanities at Yale University. In his most recent book, This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom, he challenges modern commitment to organized religion and capitalism and makes a case for a form of democratic socialism.

Mark van Ommeren studies how traumatic experiences affect mental wellness for the World Health Organization.

Joelle Fiss is an expert on blasphemy laws, which are used in countries around the world to punish members of minority faiths. She is a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s panel of experts on freedom of religion or belief.

Jan Figel is the European Commission’s special envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union. Arrange an interview through his assistant, Anna Garekova.

Oliver Steffen, who is based at the University of Bern in Switzerland, studies religion and the media, with an emphasis on the spiritual aspects of digital games.