Alicia McNary Forsey is a research professor at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif. She authored an essay, “Attitudes About Money in Theological Schools.”

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has an analysis of the attitudes and practices of Americans regarding prayer.

The Rev. John Langan is a professor of philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He wrote the entry “Stem Cell Research and Religious Freedom” for Stem Cell Research: New Frontiers in Science and Ethics.

Gregory Schopen is a professor of South Asian Buddhism in the department of Asian languages and cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written on the role of money in Buddhism, especially in India.

Michael David Bonner is a professor of Near Eastern studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has written on money and Islam, including the entry “Wealth” in the Encyclopedia of the Qur’an.

John Hyde Evans is a sociologist at the University of California, San Diego. He wrote Playing God?: Human Genetic Engineering and the Rationalization of Public Bioethical Debate and The History and Future of Bioethics: A Sociological View.

Michael M. Mendiola was associate professor of Christian ethics for the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He wrote the article “Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Possible Approaches from a Catholic Perspective” for The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate (MIT Press, 2001). Mendiola passed away in 2008.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force is a private organization headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. The group, whose mission is to “publicize and preserve America’s Christian heritage,” organizes National Prayer Day events.

Dr. Irving Weissman is head of the stem cell research program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. He opposes an effort to repeal California’s law legalizing embryonic stem cell research.