Josh Larsen is the editor of Think Christian, a website that looks at religion and popular culture from the Reformed tradition. Think Christian is based in Palos Heights, Ill.

Matthew Harris is a scholar of African-American religion, popular culture and religion, and black studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He wrote a paper on “self-deification” in hip-hop for 2016’s “Show and Prove” hip-hop studies conference.

Robert Tinajero is an associate professor of English at Paul Quinn College in Dallas. His areas of studies include rap and hip-hop culture.

Monica R. Miller is an associate professor of Africana studies and religious studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and the author of Religion and Hip Hop.

Jo Walton is a science fiction writer of more than a dozen novels and has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the highest accolades in sci-fi. She is working on a novel called Lent that has religious elements in it. She can discuss religion in science fiction and what it tries to achieve.

Robert Geraci is a professor of religious studies at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, where he teaches a course on science fiction, fantasy and religion. He is the author of Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life and Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.

Brian Pellot is director of global strategy at Religion News Foundation and Religion News Service. He organized and implemented the November 2016 workshop in Cape Town and wrote this guide, its corresponding curriculum, and the forthcoming reporting guide on religion and sexual/gender minorities in sub-Saharan Africa. 

John Marnell is the publishing and communications officer at Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action in Johannesburg and is often based in Melbourne, Australia. He has trained journalists from across sub-Saharan Africa on how to better report on LGBTI issues.