Pet Star’s collection of interfaith greeting cards feature two dogs or cats – one wearing a Santa hat, the other, a yarmulke.

Phil and Elise Okrend are co-founders of MixedBlessing, a company in Raleigh, N.C., that produces interfaith cards, music and other holiday items. The Okrends, both Jewish, also are co-authors of the children’s book Blintzes for Blitzen (MixedBlessing, 1996).

Cheryl Kirk-Duggan is a professor of theology and women’s studies at the Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, N.C. She can discuss the current celebration of Kwanzaa in black communities and congregations in the South.

Akinyele Umoja is a professor of African-American studies at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He attributes the popularity of Kwanzaa to its nonreligious nature.

Ama Mazama is a professor in the African-American studies department at Temple University in Philadelphia. She wrote a book about Kwanzaa, Kwanzaa ou la Célébration du Génie Africain, that was published in France in 2006.

Maulana Karenga is the founder of the holiday Kwanzaa. Karenga is a professor of black studies at California State University in Long Beach.

Do editors only want controversial religion stories? By David Gibson The Star-Ledger* Most editors are somewhat schizoid when it comes to religion coverage. They want Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah stories one day. Then the next day they want the embezzling priest nabbed in a sex scandal. Why? Because “crime” stories have a built-in immunity […]

Monsignor Arturo J. Bañuelas is the pastor of St. Mark’s Catholic Church in El Paso, Texas. He founded the Tepeyac Institute and is nationally known for his expertise on border issues and culture. Bañuelas edited Mestizo Christianity: Theology from the Latino Perspective (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004).

David Sanchez teaches theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He researches Guadalupan studies and iconography.