Carmel Chiswick was a professor emerita of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago until her retirement. She focuses on the economics of religion, especially involving the American Jewish family, Jewish religious observance and American Jewish communal institutions.

Evelyn Lehrer is a professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago who specializes in the economics of religion. She wrote Religion, Economics, and Demography: The Effects of Religion on Education, Work and the Family (Routledge, 2009).

Charles M. North, associate professor of economics at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has written about the links between religion and economic growth. He co-wrote the 2008 book Good Intentions: Nine Hot Button Issues Viewed Through the Eyes of Faith.

Carrie Miles is a senior scholar-in-residence at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. She is the author of The Redemption of Love: Rescuing  Marriage and Sexuality from the Economics of a Fallen World ( Brazos Press, 2006). The book uses economics and social science to understand biblical teachings on marriage and the family.

Read a Nov. 15, 2004, Christian Science Monitor article on how past elections have influenced the culture wars.

James Steyer is the founder of Common Sense Media, a politically neutral San Francisco-based group that offers information to help parents make good choices for their families. Media contacts are Amber Whiteside and Crista Sumanik.

Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based advocacy group, has a mission to bring more family oriented programming to television.

David Blankenhorn is president of the Institute for American Values. Founded in 1987, the group bills itself as a private, nonpartisan organization “devoted to contributing intellectually to the renewal of marriage and family life and the sources of competence, character and citizenship.”