Shira Gabriel is an assistant professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., who has conducted three studies on celebrity worship, one of which focused on how it boosts the worshipper’s self-esteem.

The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University of New York has done research into philanthropy among some religious and ethnic groups in the New York area. Kathleen D. McCarthy is the director.

Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of The (New York) Jewish Week. He and other reporters at the paper have written extensively about the effects of the recession and the Madoff scandal on Jewish philanthropies.

Naomi Levine is executive director of New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and is an expert on Jewish philanthropy and nonprofits.

New York University’s Heyman Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising provides professional development training for nonprofit executives, employees and volunteers.

Warren Bird is director of research and intellectual capital for Leadership Network, a nonprofit organization that works to foster Christian leadership, innovation and church growth. He has studied and profiled many of the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing churches and is a co-author of A Multi-Site Church Road Trip: Exploring the New Normal. Bird’s dissertation in 2007 examined whether megachurches foster […]

The Center for the Study of Religion and Sexuality is a part of Columbia University’s Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality; the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life; and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. It is in place to provide forums and resources in a world where intersections of sexuality and religion […]

The Center for Indian Studies, SUNY at Stonybrook is dedicated to “multi-directional flow of knowledge and scholarly exchange that enhances local and global communities.”

GreenFaith is an interfaith coalition that works with houses of worship, religious schools and people of all faiths to help them become better environmental stewards. The Rev. Fletcher Harper is executive director.