Kathryn Barush is an assistant professor of art history and religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where she studies art and the material culture of pilgrimage, domestic and urban shrines, sacred art and sacred space, and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the visual arts.

James Lawrence is an assistant professor of Christian spirituality and historical studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He studies Protestant spiritual disciplines and practice, especially Swedenborgians, New Religious Movements, and sports and spirituality.

Barbara Green is a professor of biblical studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. Her research includes Christian spirituality and biblically based fiction.

Jennifer Wilkins Davidson is an associate professor of theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Her research areas include Communion and baptism among American Baptists, the Black Lives Matter movement and the spiritual practices of the “nones.”

Michael Dodds is a professor of philosophy and theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He researches the philosophy of nature, God and suffering, and science and religion.

Why do all the world’s religions emphasize giving thanks? What are the spiritual benefits of giving thanks? The physical benefits?

Paul Handley is the managing editor of Church Times, an Anglican newspaper based in London. He has written about the need to focus on giving thanks in November and lamented the rise of Black Friday as a shopping festival.

Laura Vance is a professor of sociology and women’s studies at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. She is the author of Women in New Religions. She is also an expert on Mormon women.