Kathleen M. Erndl is an associate professor of religion at Florida State University in Tallahassee. She has written about gender issues and the worship of female deities.

Bruce M. Sullivan is a professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is a specialist in Hinduism, Buddhism, and India’s classical Sanskrit literary and theatrical traditions. He teaches a course on the Hindu epics.

Paula Richman is a professor of religion at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. She is an expert on the Hindu epics, especially the Ramayana.

Mandakranta Bose is a professor emerita at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She is an expert on the Ramayana.

Laurie L. Patton is the dean of arts & sciences and a professor of religion at Duke University. She is an expert in Hindu mythology.

Wendy Doniger is a professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago. She is an expert on the mythology of Hinduism and has written about the origins of evil in Hindu mythology.

Karen Pechilis is chair and a professor of comparative religions at Drew University in Madison, N.J. She edited The Graceful Guru: Hindu Female Gurus in the United States, which covers the American movements behind Ammachi, Anandamayi Ma, Gauri Ma, Gurumayi, Jayashri Ma, Karunamayi Ma, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, Mother Meera, Shree Maa and Sita Devi.

Read an Aug. 24, 2010, interview with singer Natalie Grant about her new album, a commentary on human trafficking. The article appeared in Christianity Today.

Mary McGee is the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Albright College in Reading, Penn. She is a former professor of religion and dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. She has written about Hinduism and the environment and Hindu architecture.