It is my pleasure to introduce this forum on the edited volume Mourning Religion (Parsons et al. 2008). The respondents are leading scholars in the fields of psychology of religion and pastoral theology, and it serves the journal well to have such well-respected authorities writing for us. Some of the responses (Cooper-White & Goldenberg) published here are revisions from formal presentations given by the respondents at a panel of the American Academy of Religion. The panel, which was held at the 2008 national meeting in Chicago, focused on this edited volume (cf. American Academy of Religion 2008, p. 14). Other responses published here were invited responses specifically for this forum in the journal. And the final piece—the “response to the respondents”—was written by Parsons, Jonte-Pace, and Henking after the other essays were submitted and processed.

I have a personal reason for being pleased to be introducing this forum as well—namely, my dissertation, which was directed by Parsons, deals with the mourning religion thesis (cf. Carlin 2009). I am grateful for the discussions and debates here, as these will surely influence my future dealings with the mourning religion thesis as I work my dissertation into a monograph or a series of articles. It is my hope that the debates and discussions published here will refine the thinking of others who are interested in topics involving religion, culture, and loss.