The Dalai Lama’s message of compassion has long transcended Tibetan Buddhism and enchanted people of all faiths -- or no faith.

It’s an ethos that blends spirituality with humanism and logic, common ground on which most religious traditions tend to agree. Or do they?

Robert Stockman, director, The Wilmette Institute on the Baha'i faith

When the Dalai Lama visits Chicago this weekend, he will be interviewed by a distinguished panel of Jews, Christians, and Muslims about his faith and religion in general. They will ask many questions about the relationship of the religions to important issues of the day, such as tolerance and world peace.

From a Bahá’í perspective, a major issue to consider would be combating religious fanaticism worldwide.

Stephen Asma, author, Why I Am a Buddhist

The Dalai Lama is visiting Chicago in a few days. Our City of Big Shoulders will bow piously and curl into an embarrassing lotus position. Highly educated, wealthy, do-gooders are falling over each other, even now, to secure a close seat (and possibly a brief audience with the Tibetan incarnation of the Buddha). I seem to be the only American Buddhist who doesn’t get watery-eyed and lip-quivery when His Holiness comes around.

Shirley Paulson, Christian Science practitioner

The Dalai Lama's imminent arrival evokes nearly universal admiration. Some claim it is due to his intelligence, humor or compassion, but I see him as a victor of vast warring powers: the power of self-government against oppressive powers of the largest country in the world – China.

Robert Stockman, director, The Wilmette Institute on the Baha'i faith

The beginning of a new presidential campaign season has once again brought to the fore the issue of whether American voters are ready to elect persons outside the white Protestant mainstream to the nation’s highest office.

The first concern for anyone should be whether a candidate is willing to uphold the Constitution and the governmental system it establishes. There is no reason to disqualify anyone on these grounds automatically based on their religion.

The Rev. Robert Barron, priest and theology professor, University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein and author of the blog Word on Fire

One wonders whom the producers of the U.S. Open broadcast were trying to impress or not to offend when they excised the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. Of course, by not offending, they managed to do violence to the words of the pledge.

James Kirk Wall, Author of Agnosticism: The Battle Against Shameless Ignorance

NBC decided to go retro in broadcasting the Pledge of Allegiance during the U.S. Open Golf Championship. The original pledge was recited, the version adopted in 1942 that did not include “under God”. NBC apologized for playing the patriotic speech as it should be recited. They should have been proud, not regretful.

Stephen Asma, author, Why I Am a Buddhist

If I met a person at a party and he told me that his spiritual leader, Mr. Smith, had dug up God-given golden plates buried in his yard and these plates had mysteriously disappeared shortly after discovery in the 1820s, but not before Smith decoded them to reveal that Native Americans are secretly Israelites from the ancient lost tribes –if I met such a person, I would first check to see if he was drinking antifreeze, and then I would back away slowly and run in the opposite direction.

But this piece of theological weirdness is what every Mormon believes. It’s not any weirder than Catholic transubstantiation or the Jewish idea the Yahweh wants men’s foreskins, but it’s definitely weird. With two Mormon presidential candidates in the running for 2012 (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman), the question of theological weirdness will only get more trenchant.

Hemant Mehta, Chicago Coalition of Reason and author of the blog Friendly Atheist

Last week, I was part of an interfaith gathering. One of the participants made very clear the message she wanted to spread: As this election season gets underway, I want to make sure people are not attacked for their religious faith.

She was suggesting that Mitt Romney‘s Mormonism, for example, shouldn’t be held against him. If you want to go after his policies, fine, but don’t attack his faith. That sounds like a perfectly reasonable stance.

The Constitution says we don’t have a religious test for public office, and people have the right to believe whatever nonsense they want. Maybe a couple years ago, I would’ve said the exact same thing.

The more I thought about it, though, the angrier I got…

Kevin Barney, Mormon blogger for By Common Consent

According to a recent Gallup poll, 25% of Americans would be less likely to support a candidate for President of the United States who is Mormon. When I see that statistic, I have to ask myself, "Why?"