Dr. William H. Thomas received the Heinz Award in 2006 for his work in transforming nursing homes using models he has developed that emphasize caring community. Contact him through the Eden Alternative in Wimberly, Texas.

Leigh Eric Schmidt teaches religion and chairs the religion department at Princeton University. He wrote Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality From Emerson to Oprah (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005) and can speak about expressions of American spirituality, including their role in 19th-century communal living arrangements.

Read an April 13, 2012 article about the history and development of cohousing communities in the U.S.

Read an Aug. 2012 article about the growing popularity of cohousing communities among more than just retired seniors. There are over 118 cohousing communities in the U.S. and counting.

Read a June 12, 2013 Huffington Post article about the ec0-villages, or cohousing communities, that are becoming a popular trend for adults and seniors alike.

Biologist and atheist Paul Z. “PZ” Myers often discusses religion and nontheism on his blog, Pharyngula.

Read a Nov. 14, 2009, New York Times article about research into whether religious behavior is an evolved instinct.

Read a Dec. 4, 2009, essay by evolutionary psychologist and biologist Marc D. Hauser, “It seems biology (not religion) equals morality.”

In 2009, the White House put together a task force on abortion reduction proposals, an effort that stirred mixed reactions at the time, as this Wall Street Journal story recounts.