Sheryl Cates is executive director of the Texas Council on Family Violence, an organization that works to educate the community about domestic violence. It has formed partnerships with different faith groups across Texas and publishes a brochure for clergy about responding to domestic violence. It is based in Austin, Texas.

The Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss is senior pastor at First Congregational UCC in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Wellspring Clergywomen’s Alliance of the Black Church and Domestic Violence Institute.

This December 2011 research report by North Caroline State University reports on the increase of incidents in which church members ask their religious leaders for financial advice.

Read a December 2011 story published in the Huffington Post about Pope Benedict XVI’s connection between the world economic crisis and the lack of religious faith.

Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh has taught and written extensively on the Buddhist understanding of love. His books on the subject include True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart and Teachings on Love. Nhat Hanh lives in Plum Village in France , but teaches around the world. Read an excerpt from True Love at Beliefnet.com. Nhat Hanh’s organization in the U.S. is […]

John K. Cochran is a professor of criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa and has written widely on religion and crime.

The Rev. George Clifford is an Episcopal priest and ethicist serving at the Church of the Nativity in Raleigh, N.C. He has blogged about gun control.

The Rev. Sharon Ellis Davis is a United Church of Christ pastor who teaches seminary classes on sexual and domestic violence. She is co-founder and pastor emeritus of God Can Ministries as well as a retired Chicago police officer and police chaplain.

Sister Joan Mueller is is professor of theology and Christian spirituality at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and the founder of the Franciscan Sisters of Joy. She is the author of numerous books and articles on Franciscanism and the related topics of forgiveness, reconciliation and discernment, including the book Is Forgiveness Possible?