Ronilso Pacheco is a theologian interested in democracy, race, fundamentalism, and extremism. He is the author of the books Teologia Negra (Black Theology) and Occupy, Resist, and Subvert. He is a frequent contributor to various media outlets in Brazil.

Heidi Beirich is an expert on the American and European far right, including white supremacist, anti-immigrant, antigovernment and other extremist movements. In 2020, with Wendy Via, Beirich co-founded the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism to monitor and counter increasingly transnational hate movements.

Sarah Bassin is the rabbi in residence for HIAS, where she helps connect clergy and communities to the work of aiding and advocating for refugees and asylum-seekers. As the product of an interfaith background, Bassin is also involved in interfaith work. Contact is via Bassin’s website.

Francesco Cerchiaro is assistant professor in the gender and diversity department at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He researched how Christian-Muslim families navigate cultural diversity.

Tanya Sadagopan is a minister at First Congregational UCC in Janesville, Wisconsin. She has written about multicultural interfaith couples and the role conflict and tension play within interfaith families.

David Seljak is a professor of religion at the University of Waterloo. He studies multiculturalism in Canada and Quebec, with interests in the sociology of Canadian Catholicism.

Leslie G. Desmangles is an emeritus professor at Trinity College in Connecticut. He has published widely, most notably an awarded book titled The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti. He can speak to Roman Catholic practice in Haiti, the Caribbean and West Africa.

Anna Peterson is a professor in the department of religion at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on religion and social change, especially Catholicism in Latin America; environmental and social ethics; and animal studies. She has published a number of articles, chapters and book in these areas. Her current research analyzes the role of […]

This edition of ReligionLink is dedicated to stories that could possibly top the lists in 2025, providing background, resources and expert sources for you to turn to in the year ahead.