Discerning Deacons is an organization advocating for the diaconal ministry of women, which members view as historically, theologically and anthropologically possible and as a means of church renewal. Contacts include co-directors Casey Stanton ([email protected], English), based in North Carolina, and Ellie Hidalgo ([email protected], English and Spanish), based in Miami.

This edition of ReligionLink is dedicated to stories that could possibly top the lists in 2025, providing background, resources and expert sources for you to turn to in the year ahead.

Sam Kestenbaum is a journalist covering religion in America. He has written about religious life during and in response to the pandemic, including a profile of Clay Clark, the frontman of a prophecy-and-politics roadshow; New Age author Christiane Northrup’s conspiracy makeover; a faith-healing TikToker whose fandom grew during lockdown months; and a Pentecostal church that […]

Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada is associate professor of religion at Kalamazoo College, where she teaches classes on religion and masculinity, Catholics in the Americas, urban religion and religions of Latin America. She is an ethnographer, and her research focuses on material culture, contemporary Catholicism, and gender and embodiment.

Ammiel Hirsch is the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City. The Jerusalem Post named him among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year.” City & State praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than 300,000 Jews and The New York Observer named him among “New […]

Mira Rivera is associate rabbi and director of pastoral care at Romemu in New York City. She serves as a rabbi and mentor at Ammud: the Jews of Color Torah Academy and actively supports LUNAR: the Asian-Jewish Film Project.  She has co-chaired the rabbinical council of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and continues to […]

Evangelicals for Harris is a network of evangelicals supporting Democrat Kamala Harris for president in 2024. Founded by Jim Bell, a pastor outside Washington D.C., the group has put out press releases about key Harris policy announcements, online ads and is working with local activists to hold in-person events in swing states.    

Jacqueline Fewkes is an anthropology professor at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University.  She is a cultural anthropologist who has conducted research in many parts of the world, including India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Recently, she led the American Mosques Project, a study of mosques in the […]

Agustín Quiles is a noted advocate for social justice among Latino Christians in Florida. He has organized churches to demonstrate for the restoration of voting rights to those with felony convictions and mobilized hundreds of pastors to protest racial injustice and stringent immigration policies.