Dr. M. William Howard Jr. is the senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., a partner in the New Jersey Character Education Partnership, which tries to instill values, including honesty, in local children.

Lael Atkinson is pastor of Payson Park United Church of Christ in Belmont, Mass. In 2003, she delivered a sermon about America as a culture that consumes too much of everything, including food.

Read a Jan. 4, 2013, article about the obesity epidemic in American churches.

Read a Nov. 10, 2011, article from the Huffington Post about the results of a study that showed a correlation between religious involvement and weight gain.

Read a March 25, 2011, article from NBC News about the link between attending religious events and obesity in young adults.

Visit the website of the Material History of American Religion Project to read a paper by Daniel Sack on the meanings behind the church potluck supper. See also an interview with Sack about his book, Whitebread Protestants.

Ashram Vrajabhumi is an organization in Brazil that offers resources for “simple living and high thinking” through Hindu meditation and prayer.

The Argentina Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center is an organization that promotes Hinduism and Hindu Dharma throughout Argentina. The website offers current news articles, additional associations on Hinduism and resources on celebrations and festivals.

The Hindu Society of Berbice is a nonprofit religious organization in Guyana that promotes and preserves Sanatan Dharma and Hindu culture by engaging its community in Hindu projects, programs and activities.