Source: Brigham Young University NewsNet

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/47443

On January 6, 2004 Brigham Young University NewsNet reported on "how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sacrifice when they quit the Buddhist way of life and embrace LDS beliefs. But despite the risks involved with denying the national religion, members and investigators of the LDS Church in Thailand continue to make that sacrifice...Thais are a deeply religious people, relying on...

Source: First Amendment Center

http://www.fac.org/rel_liberty/publiclife/news.aspx?id=12424

On January 6, 2004 the First Amendment Center posted an Associated Press article that reported, "Maui County has been dealt a setback in its ongoing legal battle involving a church seeking to expand and hold services at its rural property. U.S. District Judge Samuel King yesterday dismissed the county's request to throw out a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department...

Source: Religion Link

http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/010504/010504a.shtml

On January 5, 2004 Religion Link reported, "A year from now, and after untold campaign speeches and news stories, the United States will either have a new president, or voters will have returned George W. Bush to the White House for a second term. But the next 12 months will feature more than the usual intense campaigning. Experts say that more than perhaps any other...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52812-2004Jan3.html

On January 4, 2004 The Washington Post reported, "A tradition in ancient cultures, the home altar has flourished in recent years among Americans who find that it powerfully expresses their intensely personal spirituality, religion scholars said. Some home shrines are designed and maintained in accordance with formal religious guidelines. But many others are...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-op-skube4jan04,1,3032143.story?coll=la-news-religion

On January 4, 2004 the Los Angeles Times published an editorial by Michael Skube on religion and tolerance: "If religion gives lives meaning — and for billions it does — it does not always bring us peace and mutual understanding. In France, President Jacques Chirac wants no large crucifixes, no skullcaps...

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/7631118.htm

On January 4, 2004 the Contra Costa Times reported that 200 people gathered at Islamic center in Oakland for an interfaith service for victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran. Speakers came from Temple Sinai and Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, the Islamic center and the Oakland Coalition of Congregations. In the past week, the Islamic center has raised $86,000 as well as...

Source: Associated Press

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1073220840326232.xml

On January 4, 2004 the Associated Press reported that according to Michigan law, students majoring in theology, divinity or religious education are ineligible for Michigan's Competitive Scholarship program. Yet a proposed state legislation and a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision could mark a change of policy. "A package of...

Source: The Cleveland Plain Dealer

http ://w ww.cleveland.com/religion/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/107296383830590.xml

On January 4, 2004 The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, "All over Northeast Ohio, in secular institutions and in Episcopal, United Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and Catholic settings, spiritual seekers are rediscovering the path of the labyrinth as a source of reflection... Northeast Ohioans seeking ways to stay spiritually centered in 2004 have plenty of options. Silent retreats, meditation...

Source: The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,4386,228145,00.html

On January 3, 2004 The Straits Times ran an Agence France Presse article that reported, "If a Muslim headscarf is an expression of faith, so is a monk's habit or a crucifix and they should be on equal footing, said German President Johannes Rau, prompting fury from Roman Catholic politicians and clerics. Mr. Rau has appealed for all religions to be treated...

Source: The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/31/wscarf131.xml

On January 3, 2004 The Telegraph ran an opinion piece by Stella White, a Catholic woman from Kent who wears the hijab, or veil. She writes, "To liberated Westerners, the hijab, or veil, is a stain on womankind. It symbolises the crushing of the female spirit and is the mark of slavery, transforming a woman into a passive lump who is only allowed...

Source: The Washington Times

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040102-112750-1747r.htm

On January 3, 2004 The Washington Times ran a London Daily Telegraph story that reported, "The Southern Cathedral in Beijing was suffused with the smell of incense as 50 members of the Chinese Orthodox Church attended a funeral Mass for Father Alexander Du Lifu, 80. But his burial is not necessarily the end of a dying tradition. The Orthodox community now has would-be...

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0104/02barrow.html

On January 2, 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, "Another religious display has been set up in the Barrow County Courthouse. The latest display includes alternate versions of the Ten Commandments, Hindu stories, Buddhist teachings, excerpts from the Quran and writings defining agnosticism. It has been placed across a breezeway from a Ten Commandments...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/religion/2332613

On January 2, 2004 The Houston Chronicle published an article on the Mennonites who live in rural Grandview, TX. The Grandview Mennonite community was formed as "the daughter church" of one in Lott, Texas and includes members who moved from Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Missouri. Of Grandview's 1,450 residents, about 180 are Mennonites, many of whom have opened bakeries, furniture...

Source: ZENIT News Agency

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=46903

On January 1, 2004 ZENIT News Agency reported, "Sri Lanka hopes to introduce a law that will limit conversions from one religion to another, the country's Minister of Religious Affairs announced. The Colombo government will promote a legislative disposition directed to those who use a variety of 'incentives' to convince others to change their religion. 'More than 7,000 Hindus, from the...

Source: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2003/03-250.htm

On December 31, 2003 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported, "The Mid-Atlantic Dialogue of Catholics and Muslims, sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield, Indiana, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Washington, DC, has finished a sixty-five page study resulting from discussion over an eight-year...