Harvey Newman is a professor of public administration and urban studies in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. A United Church of Christ minister, he has an extensive background in faith-based nonprofits.

Greg Boyd is senior pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and author of The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church, in which he says American Christians should seek to build the kingdom of God instead of building political power.

Doug Ammar is executive director of the Georgia Justice Project, which helps poor people accused of crimes rebuild their lives, whether or not they are convicted. Ammar has been part of several symposiums and initiatives on religion and law.

Kristina Scott is executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project, which builds coalitions among religious, business and higher education organizations to work toward eliminating poverty. The project is based in Birmingham.

Formed in November 2005, We Believe Ohio includes 100 racially and theologically diverse clergy interested in social justice.

The Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. The federation works to promote social justice while working together as different faiths. The Rev. Clint Mitchell is president.

Interfaith Impact of New York is a statewide coalition of congregations and individuals from mainline Protestant, Reform Jewish, Unitarian Universalist and other faith traditions that work for compassion and justice in New York state public policies.

Alexie Torres-Fleming is founder and executive director of Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, which rebuilds neighborhoods by developing leaders among youth to work on community issues, including poverty. It’s based in the Bronx, N.Y. She spoke at the 2009 Mobilization to End Poverty event in Washington, D.C.

Dan Wakefield is a veteran writer and Unitarian in Boston whose newest book is The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate (Nation Books, 2006). Read an excerpt in the April 24, 2006, issue of The Nation.