Read the text of Pope Benedict’s message for the 45th annual World Communications Day, titled “Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age.” The Pope said new media and social networks offered “a great opportunity,” but he warned of the risks of having more virtual friends than real ones, saying that “it is always important […]

Read a Jan. 21, 2011, news release from LifeWay Research about Protestant congregations using Facebook and other social networking tools. Nearly half of Protestant churches use Facebook, while 40 percent do not use any social networking tools. However, the trend seems to be toward greater adoption of social networking tools.

Read a Feb. 27, 2011 story from the San Jose Mercury News, which covers Silicon Valley, about the increasing number of religious apps available to iPhone users.

Kristin Henderson is an author, Quaker and wife of a Navy chaplain. Her books include While They’re At War: The True Stories of American Families on the Homefront (Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

CNN.com maintains an interactive map that shows the names and hometowns of all U.S. military casualties from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rev. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier is Dean of Eastern University in Penn. Her interests include immigration/migration and ecumenism. She is founder of the Orlando E. Costas Hispanic and Latin American Ministries Program at Andover Newton Theological School. She wrote Hispanic Bible Institutes: A Community of Theological Construction (University of Scranton Press, 2005) and co-wrote A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics […]

Moon Khan is a writer, motivational speaker and contributing columnist of several ethnic newspapers. Khan looks to create respect and political empowerment for all ethnic and immigrant groups. He has ran for and held public office in DuPage County, Ill.

Marshall W. Fishwick (1923-2006) was professor emeritus of interdisciplinary studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. He wrote on popular culture and religion, including the book Great Awakenings: Popular Religion and Popular Culture (Haworth Press, 1995).

Derek Wilson, an author who specializes in history, wrote The People’s Bible: The Remarkable History of the King James Version. He is a frequent speaker and media commentator.