The Rev. Robert Wister is a leading expert on the history of the papacy. He is a professor of church history at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He earned a doctorate in church history at the Gregorian University in Rome.

The Rev. Michael A. Fahey is professor emeritus of theological studies at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He is an expert on the history and office of the papacy, and papal elections.

George Weigel is an orthodox-minded Catholic theologian and distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (2005) and Witness to Hope (1999), which is essentially the authorized biography of Pope John Paul’s papacy. Weigel also wrote The End […]

Anthony Gill, professor of political science at the University of Washington in Seattle, researches church-state relations from a microeconomic perspective. He teaches a course on religion, politics and economics. His books include Rendering Unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America. Gill conducts research on community efforts to restrict the property rights of […]

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

Katherine G. Grincewich is associate general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Rosemary Chinnici, a disaster specialist, Roman Catholic nun and pastoral theologian, considered the psychological and theological aftermath of disasters in a talk she gave after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In every disaster, she says, after an initial “honeymoon” time of helping, sharing and altruism comes a period of disillusionment with aid efforts before rebuilding begins […]

The American Association of Pastoral Counselors promotes the integration of religion and psychological counseling. It maintains a searchable database of accredited pastoral counseling centers by state. Douglas M. Ronsheim is the executive director.

The Pluralism Project at Harvard University offers a state-by-state search engine for religious communities.