The Tennessean published a package of stories on Oct. 24, 2010, related to mistrust of Muslims in the state. Shariah law plays a part in that concern and is an issue in a lawsuit to block construction of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Read an Oct. 19, 2010, Council on Foreign Relations interview with John C. Green of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, who says that although voters are primarily concerned about jobs and the economy, they may also feel growing anxiety about Islam and the cultural and ethnic changes in the country.

Karen A. McClintock is a psychotherapist and United Methodist minister who wrote Sexual Shame: An Urgent Call to Healing. She is an expert on issues of sexual abuse of children by clergy and is a consultant to schools and churches on issues of sexuality. McClintock is an adjunct faculty member in the psychology department at Southern […]

A.W. Richard Sipe is a former priest who is also a psychotherapist and leading researcher on issues relating to clergy and sexuality. He is a widely cited commentator and the author or co-author of several books on the topic, including Sex, Priests and Secret Codes: The Catholic Church’s 2,000-Year Paper Trail of Sexual Abuse. He lives in […]

Joseph Chinnici is a Franciscan friar and professor of history at the Franciscan School of Theology, which is affiliated with the University of San Diego. He is the author of When Values Collide: The Catholic Church, Sexual Abuse and the Challenges of Leadership.

Eli Coleman is director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He is widely cited on issues related to sexual abuse by clergy.

Anna Salter is a consultant and author on sexual abuse, sex offenders and victimization. She also evaluates sex offenders for civil commitment proceedings and testifies as an expert witness in sexual abuse civil and criminal cases. Salter earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and public practice from Harvard University and served on the faculty of Dartmouth […]

Gregory Erlandson and Matthew Bunson are co-authors of a May 2010 book, “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal.” Their book aims for “a stronger balance” between media reports and what the authors say is the pope’s actual track record on clergy abuse. Bunson is a church historian and […]

J. Patout Burns is the Edward A. Malloy Professor of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has studied the issue of clerical abuse.