Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/12/01/in_lawmaker_poll_few_back_limiting_marriage/

On December 12, 2003 The Boston Globe reported, "The state Senate president and the House majority leader, responding to a Globe survey of Massachusetts legislators, say they would vote against a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and civil...

Source: United Press International

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031211-032204-3206r

On December 11, 2003 United Press International reported, "Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large crosses are to be banned from French public schools, according to a report presented to President Jacques Chirac Thursday. More 'discreet' religious symbols, such as small crosses, Muslim Hands of Fatima and Stars of David should be allowed, a 20-member committee...

Source: Reuters

Source: Cybercast News Service

[CNSnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=\ForeignBureaus\archive\200312\FOR20031211a.html]

On December 11, 2003 Cybercast News Service reported, "As Christmas approaches, Christians in Indonesia's Sulawesi province are worried that despite an influx of troops and police, the deteriorating security situation of the last two months may worsen. Christian campaigners working in the area say many are too scared to live normal lives, afraid to tend, harvest or market their crops for fear of attack...

Source: Forum 18 News Service

http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=210

On December 11, 2003 Forum 18 News Service reported, "Mongolia's 13-member consultative Council for Religious Affairs believes the country's existing law on religion to be 'relatively fair,' that body's secretary and only full-time paid member, Samdan Tsedendamba, has told Forum 18 News Service. Consequently, there are no current plans to change the law, he remarked in the capital Ulaanbaatar...

Source: USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-12-12-home-chapels_x.htm

On December 11, 2003 USA Today reported on the increasing number of American homes that include altars or private chapels for worship. "Carving out a spiritual space in the home, whether it be a separate room or a quiet corner, is increasingly common, says Peg Streep, author of Altars Made Easy and Spiritual Gardening. Why the change? Eastern culture, which 'doesn't distinguish between...

Source: The Independent

[education.independent.co.uk/schools/story.jsp?story=472036]

On December 11, 2003 The Independent reported, "At Cranford Infant and Nursery School, the rehearsal for the nativity play is going well. The shepherds look a little nervous, the angels a little boisterous - it is no different here from hundreds of schools up and down the land as the nativity season gets under way. It is not every school, however, in which Mary will be played by a Filipino Christian six-year-old and Joseph by a Punjabi...

Source: The Washington Post

[washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53432-2003Dec10.html?referrer=emailarticle]

On December 11, 2003 The Washington Post reported that Christians, Muslims and Jews recently gathered at Jaferia Islamic Center in Burtonsville to learn about Islamic culture and discover common bonds in the midst of this period of international conflict. "The event, sponsored by the Maryland Muslim Council, was an effort to help dispel misconceptions about Muslims and foster friendships. It included a forum, an...

Source: The State

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/7455691.htm

On December 10, 2003 The State reported that "words of Christian and Baha’i scripture, Hindu chants, and prayers offered in the Lakota Sioux language welcomed a crowd of about 60 to USC’s Gambrell Hall Tuesday night. The diversity of the offered prayers reflected the reason they had gathered — a forum on the increasing diversity of South Carolina’s religious...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42128-2003Dec6.html

On December 7, 2003 The Washington Post reported on the rise of African Christianity in the D.C. area, a fact that is changing not only the face, but the sound of Christianity in America's capitol city. The Post recently described an African church service, reporting that '"the priest and congregation of more than 200 people, most of them African and Caribbean...

Source: New Straits Times

http ://w ww.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/20031208074840/Article/

On December 7, 2003 the New Straits Times reported on a forum on "Religion and Violence: The Spiritual Response to Terrorism" held by the Malaysian Interfaith Network (MIN): "Speaking as chairman [of the MIN], [Datuk Anwar Fazal] saw much of the world not being at peace with itself because people were not at peace with themselves and, by that token, with others...Representatives of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism,...

Source: The Associated Press

Source: World on the Web

http://www.worldmag.com/world/issue/12-06-03/closing_2.asp

On December 6, 2003 the evangelical Christian magazine World on the Web published an editorial by Marvin Olasky on the "providential" nature of religious pluralism in American society. According to the article, today "we have pluralism by providence, an abundance of factions religious and temporal. Some of us might wish that we lived in a different time, but that is coveting a...

Source: The Journal News

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/120603/a01p06juandiego.html

On December 6, 2003 The Journal News reported, "Four years after Pope John Paul II declared Our Lady of Guadalupe to be the patroness of not only Mexico but the Americas, New York's diverse Catholic community is demonstrating the growing devotion to the indigenous Mexican vision of the Virgin Mary. Hundreds came to St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday to see a tiny...

Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin

http://starbulletin.com/2003/12/06/features/adamski.html

On December 6, 2003 the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that a nativity scene is on display in front of the Oahu City Hall and is drawing little criticism from those who advocate the separation of church and state. Other religious and secular institutions are permitted to take part in the Honolulu City Lights show, a massive holiday spectacle has seen participation from the Baha...