It took a while, but we finally got there.

Six months ago, on the first anniversary of the Post-Dispatch's religion blog, Civil Religion, we put out a call for new bloggers. We asked for people who are good writers, and who are interested in issues that affect people of faith (or people of no faith).

We got a big response, and after reviewing the candidates, we asked a bunch of them to join us at Civil Religion.

When we launched the blog in April 2008, we started with 12 official contributors. We held up Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "positive dogmas" — "the existence of a mighty, intelligent and beneficent Deity, possessed of foresight and providence, the life to come, the happiness of the just, the punishment of the wicked, the sanctity of the social contract and the laws" — as a guide. And like Rousseau, we rejected intolerance, his sole "negative dogma."

In the past 18 months, we've lost some of our original contributors, and added others. But this week, we've made a change that we hope will make Civil Religion even more dynamic than it is now. We've more than doubled the number of official bloggers, and in the process, broadened the blog's spectrum.

Eight of our current writers remain. Each of them has recommitted their time to the blog, promising at least a couple posts a week. They are:

— Pamela Dolan is a candidate for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and is on staff at Emmanuel Parish in Webster Groves.

— Rev. Scott Lamb, founding pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Rock Hill, is director of research for Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

— Kate Lovelady is the leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis.

— Rev. Travis Scholl is managing editor of theological publications at Concordia Seminary.

— Sherry Tyree is a founding member and vice president of Women for Faith & Family, a national Catholic women's organization that supports and defends traditional church teachings.

— Aroona Toor, a practicing Muslim, is a senior at McCluer High School in north St. Louis County.

— Kim Wallis facilitates Rosh Chodesh groups for Jewish teenage girls in the St. Louis area and teaches seventh-graders at her temple's religious school.

— Rev. Starsky Wilson is pastor of St. John's United Church of Christ in north St. Louis and a graduate of Eden Theological Seminary.

To those voices, we're adding 18 more. And we're not done. In the coming weeks, we may add a few more names. Here are our newest Civil Religion bloggers. Extended biographies can be found at stltoday.com/civilreligion:

— Matthew Anderson, a graduate of the Torrey Honors Institute and Biola University in California, now works as a writer and editor in St. Louis.

— Sharon Autenrieth is a homeschooling mom, and the adult ministries director for Good Samaritan Church of the Nazarene in Collinsville.

— Jerome Bauer formerly taught Hindu Studies at Washington University.

— Adam Bodendieck and his wife are founders of and contributors to oneechad.blogspot.com, a blog that examines what Christianity looks like in contemporary culture.

— Beth Damsgaard-Rodriguez is the executive director of Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls.

— Leigh Hunt Greenhaw is a professor of religion and constitutional law at Washington University.

— Mike Hamilton, a former Navy chaplain, is a professor of religion and philosophy at Principia College in Elsah.

— Ghazala Hayat is a neurology professor at St. Louis University and former chair of the Islamic Foundation of St. Louis.

— Kathy Nance is a freelance writer, green entrepreneur and serious student of pagan thought who lives in south St. Louis with her cat, Charlie.

— David Lancaster is the editor of Where Magazine, an atheist and a visual artist who shows religion-oriented work at PHD Gallery in St. Louis.

— Nancy Kinney is a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis whose research focuses on the intersection of religious groups and public policy.

— Monsignor Eugene Morris is the pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Brentwood and an adjunct professor of sacramental theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

— Rev. Daniel O'Connell is the lead minister at Eliot Unitarian Chapel in Kirkwood and a police chaplain with the Kirkwood Police Department.

— Rabbi Carnie Rose is the senior rabbi of Congregation B'nai Amoona in Creve Coeur.

— Rabbi Hyim Shafner is the senior rabbi of Bais Abraham Congregation in University City.

— Edward Smith, a Granite City steelworker, attends St. Clement of Rome Church in Des Peres. He is a member of the Jung Society of St. Louis and the Ethical Society of St. Louis.

— Rosalynde Welch is a member of the Webster Groves ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and blogs on Mormon issues at Times & Seasons.

— Rosan Yoshida is the founder of the Missouri Zen Center in Webster Groves and a retired professor of comparative religion at Toyo University in Tokyo.