Posted to Religious Diversity News on June 4, 1999

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 4, 1999, The San Francisco Chronicle reported
that Change Your Mind Day will take place at Golden Gate Park on June
5th. The event is being held for the first time outside of New York
City’s Central Park. The Buddhists in San Francisco plan to hook up
with their counterparts in New York via cell phone during a
meditation session. The San Francisco event is sponsored by the San
Francisco Zen Center, Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County,
California, and the Bay Area Shambhala Centers.

Posted to Religious Diversity News on June 1, 1999

Source: The New York Times

On June 1, 1999, The New York Times published an article
of reflections on the Pittsburgh Principles. Rabbis Sheldon
Zimmerman, president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of
Religion, emphasized that since American society reminds Jews of
their identity less frequently, the question for American Jews is
“‘Why be Jewish?’ No other generation has had to answer that
question.” Rabbis Paul J. Menitoff, the executive vice-president of
the Central Conference of American Rabbis, stated: “I think there’s a
change in the sociology of what we’re all about. Our parents and
grandparents were coming to this country and trying to become
Americanized. They wanted their kids to be as American as apple pie,
and they did a very good job.” Rabbi Menitoff also mentioned that the
younger generations are searching for their roots.

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 31, 1999

Source: The Courier-Journal

On May 31, 1999, The Courier-Journal of Louisville
published an article on Congregation Keneseth Israel in Louisville,
which recently voted to give men and women equal roles in worship
services. Women in this Conservative synagogue will now be allowed to
read from the Torah during services. Rabbi Shmuel Mann, leader of
Keneseth Israel, stated: “I have ambivalent feelings, in the sense
that it’s tough for a congregation to go through this move, but
hundreds of Conservative congregations have done that over the last
25 years. On the whole I think it’s a positive move…It brings the
worship service more in line with the way we think and the way we
live our lives.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 29, 1999

Source: Star Tribune

On May 29, 1999, the Star Tribune published an article
on the third biennial conference of the National Student Conference
on Islam at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. The theme of this
year’s conference, “Muslims & Christians, Friendship &
Faith,” expounds on the Student Conference’s goal of instilling an
understanding of Islam and Muslim culture in undergraduate and
seminary students. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, professor of the History of
Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, gave a
lecture at the conference on the Americanization of Muslims and
Islam. Haddad stated that Muslim faith and practice in the United
States is vibrant and growing at a fast pace: “some kind of Saudi
Islam seems to be the norm. They’re doing a lot of reinterpretation.”
She also addressed the fact that many children of Islamic immigrants
attempt to distance themselves from the culture and religion of their
parents. Haddad interviewed a range of white American female
converts, who feel more comfortable in American society as Muslims
because they are “respected for who they are rather than for the way
they look.” In addition, women’s lives are not “tied to an outside
job” and the role of wife and mother takes precedence. Mark N.
Swanson, director of the Islamic Studies Program at Luther, stated:
“Every group in the United States has Americanized in some sense.
Each one has to find its own axis of acculturation. Different
communities find their place along the axis where they’re loyal to
their traditions and also feel they have a role in this society.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 27, 1999

Source: The New York Times

On May 27, 1999, The New York Times published an article
on the contents of the Pittsburgh Principles. The document is divided
into “three broad sections of beliefs, in the worship of God, the
observance of the Torah and devotion to Israel.” The document
specifically addresses for the first time in a declaration of Reform
principles the issue of mitzvot, which are sacred obligations that
are observed more closely by Conservative and Orthodox Jews. The
document states that “some of these mitzvot, sacred obligations, have
long been observed by Reform Jews; others, both ancient and modern,
demand renewed attention as the result of the unique context of our
own times.” The document also addresses homosexuality, religious intermarriage, and recent converts. The Pittsburgh Principles are a
beginning point for further meetings to translate the principles into “concrete terms.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 27, 1999

Source: New York Daily News

On May 27, 1999, the Daily News of New York reported that
the principles laid down in Pittsburgh by the Central Conference of
American Rabbis does not mandate actions for Reform Jews, but it
offers “guidelines for observing traditional Jewish practices, such
as wearing prayer shawls, following kosher dietary laws, studying
Hebrew and Observing Shabbat.” Cantor Rebecca Garfein of the Bronx’s
Riverdale Temple stated: “They’re looking for meaning and something
to hold on to in the age of globism, this age of technology, when
almost everything today is a push of the button. People are looking
for more meaning in their lives.” Rabbi Ronald Sobel of Temple
Emanu-El in New York was not so optimistic about the principles: “The
document itself is unimportant. What is troubling is the atmosphere
that has created this document [which is] a departure from historic
Reform Judaism that was unapologetically inclusive and universal,
[and that is] a step away from a Liberal Jewish religious life where
ethics and morality are consciously more important than ceremonies
and rituals.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 27, 1999

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On May 27, 1999, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the
Central Conference of American Rabbis in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
endorsed a measure by a vote of 324-68 to encourage Reform Judaism
toward the observance of more traditional rituals and practices, such
as keeping kosher, wearing a yarmulke, and praying in Hebrew.
Reform Judaism’s founding platform in 1885 eschewed many Jewish traditions
because they were viewed as obstacles to “modern spiritual
elevation.” Rabbi Michael Siegel, the newly elected president of the
Chicago Board of Rabbis, stated that, “a move back to the traditions
in religious life is taking place in America in general and the
decision by the Reform movement to include more Hebrew in its
services, and return to the tradition, is an indication of what goes
on around the country.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 27, 1999

Source: The Times-Picayune

On May 27, 1999, The Times-Picayune reported on the
Pittsburgh meeting, mentioning that the Pittsburgh Principles
encourage immigration to Israel, welcome marriage to non-Jews who
“strive to create a Jewish home,” and encourage Jews to be
missionaries to those unaffiliated with any faith.

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 26, 1999

Source: The Detroit News

On May 26, 1999, The Detroit News published an article
entitled,
“Reform
Judaism Adopts New Platform.”

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 25, 1999

Source: The Miami Herald

On May 25, 1999, The Miami Herald reported that Governor
Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet decided to make the Miami Circle, a
38-foot-diameter stone formation in downtown Miami that dates back to
the Tequesta Indians, a priority for the state land purchasing
program. The Circle became a controversial discovery when developers
unearthed the site on land that had been purchased to build a large
office complex. The fate of the Circle, which is on the
south bank of the Miami River, is still in limbo. The county has sued
the developer and the city to buy the land and preserve the site.
Miami Mayor Joe Carollo is trying to move the formation because he
doesn’t want to lose the tax revenue from the proposed development.
Archaeological researchers at the site concluded that, “it seems
likely to us, based on an examination of the overall site area, that
the circular feature is only part of a larger site complex.”