The Rev. Lewis V. Baldwin is a professor emeritus of religious studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He edited the book The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.: The Boundaries of Law, Politics and Religion.  

Michael S. Ariens is a professor of church and state for the school of law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. He wrote the essay “Religion in the Courtroom” for the book Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (ABC-Clio, 2002).

Gregory Baylor is director of the Christian Legal Society and said outlawing sacramental tea would be the equivalent of banning the wine served at a Roman Catholic Mass.

Kelly Shackelford is president and CEO of First Liberty Institute, a Texas law firm that works to preserve religious freedom and argued in support of the Bladensburg cross before the Supreme Court.

See a June 1, 2009, New York Times roundup and analysis of surveys on abortion and the possible impact of the Tiller shooting on public opinion.

According to a June 1, 2009, profile of Roeder in The Wichita Eagle, Roeder has connections to extremist anti-government groups and is a long-standing opponent of abortion.

A June 1, 2009, New York Times story quotes Roeder’s ex-wife as saying he was looking for a “scapegoat” to blame for his troubles. “First it was taxes — he stopped paying. Then he turned to the church and got involved in anti-abortion,” she said.

A June 2, 2009, Time magazine story notes that Roeder’s car was “decorated with a red rose — an antiabortion emblem — and a Jesus fish.”

A June 2, 2009, Wichita Eagle profile says that when Roeder turned to religion he became “adamant about his Old Testament beliefs and observed the Sabbath from Friday night through Saturday.”