A program of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force that works to encourage inclusiveness by faith communities. It lists “welcoming churches” and “welcoming seminaries.” The Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, a United Church of Christ minister, is program director for the institute, which is based in Minneapolis.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is an organization that works “to unify, coordinate, encourage, promote and carry on Catholic activities in the United States.”

Priests for Life is one of the largest anti-abortion groups in the country. The Rev. Frank Pavone is the group’s leader.

E.J. Dionne Jr. is a senior fellow for governance studies at the Brookings Institution. His books include, as co-editor, What’s God Got to Do With the American Experiment?

Barbara Brown Zikmund is a historian and a fellow at the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Her research and writing has focused on the role of women in the church, the evolution of 20th-century Protestant denominations (with special attention to the United Church of […]

Sue Crawford is a professor of political science and international relations at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. One of her specialties is the role of religious institutions in public policy. She co-edited Christian Clergy in American Politics and co-authored Women With a Mission: Religion, Gender and the Politics of Women Clergy.

The Board of Theological Education establishes, maintains and oversees the general standards and curriculum for the education and formation of clergy in the Orthodox Church in America’s three seminaries.

See a March 7, 2012, item from the Catholic Relief Services Newswire about U.S. Catholic bishops and other leaders in the church urging support for a farm bill that helps the needy, is fair to farmers and ranchers and promotes good land stewardship.  

The Rev. L. Shannon Jung is professor of town and country ministries at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri. He has written about rural ministry. His books include  Hunger & Happiness: Feeding the Hungry, Nourishing Our Souls and Food for Life: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating.