Source: The Associated Press

http://boston.com/dailynews/017/economy/In_the_workplace_religion_beco:.shtml

On January 17, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "worker complaints of religious discrimination made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jumped more than 20 percent last year, driven primarily by claims of retaliation against Muslims... But in a much more gradual trend, complaints... involving a broad range of religions...

Source: East Bay Express

On January 15, 2003 the East Bay Express reported that "the mission statement of the Interfaith Pagan Pride Parade defines 'pagans' as: 'Those who follow indigenous, tribal, polytheistic, Nature-based, and Earth-based beliefs.' For anyone who enjoys world music and other international folk arts -- especially from the undeveloped world -- and the spirituality that comes from nature, the 'interfaith pagan' belief system might not be that much of a leap, says Berkeley's Micha Dunston... There are many other pagan orgs around...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-nomeals13jan13001446,0,558409.story

On January 13, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "across the nation, advocates for the homeless have squared off with city officials over everything from sleeping on city sidewalks to outdoor toilets, but in Southern California the debate now centers on... the distribution of food in public... Advocates for the poor see the food handouts as humanitarianism at...

Source: Sun Spot

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.prayer18jan18,0,3783858.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

On January 13, 2003 the Sun Spot reported that "three of the five opening prayers in the [Maryland] Senate this week ended with a reference to Jesus Christ, which some members of the assembly believed to be inappropriate... 'On this question of religion, I think it's important to recognize and to remember...

Source: The Ledger

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On January 11, 2003 The Houston Chronicle reported that "Christ the King Lutheran Church offers... Texans with German heritage the sounds of childhood while reaching out to natives of German-speaking countries with reminders of home... 'Once in a while, to come and do something that warms your heart, to dip into your roots, is very comfy,' said the Rev. Karin Liebster, associate pastor... For nine years, Christ the King has recalled its denomination's roots with Christmas Eve services in the native language of Martin Luther...

Source: The Washington Post

On January 11, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "members of Chinese Christian Church in Silver Spring are staking out Chinese restaurants and markets and promoting a different type of blessing... Some volunteers have even pored through the Montgomery County phone book, looking for Chinese surnames, to send them mailings about Jesus Christ... In recent years, Chinese immigrants have been converting to Christianity and aggressively proselytizing. Nearly a third of Chinese Americans now attend church, compared with the...

Source: Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/50499p-47376c.html

On January 10, 2003 the Daily News reported that "it took Sarah Brockus and 21 colleagues about three months to interview 120 New Yorkers about their religious beliefs and practices and another three months to turn the conversations into a play called 'Same Difference'... 'And that's what we learned,' says Brockus, the work's director and inspiration. 'That in all the important ways...

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/4915663.htm

On January 10, 2003 the Contra Costa Times reported that "a lawsuit filed by a Christian law firm against the Byron Union School District won't go before a jury until late 2004, and the district's new superintendent is calling it a political fund-raiser... The lawsuit was filed on June 24, 2002, in federal court in San Francisco by the Thomas More Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit firm that...

Source: The Washington Post

On January 6, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "Christmas is everywhere in this country, especially for kids. Santa's helpers are at the shopping mall. Nativity scenes are on people's front lawns. There's even a Christmas tree in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Turn on the television, and there's Linus telling the story of Jesus's birth on 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' Non-Christian kids, meanwhile, have some pretty important traditions of their own to observe in December, but their classmates often know little about them...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 5, 2003 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "Walker Township Ordinance 167 addresses where people can keep horses. It doesn't address religious freedom. It makes no mention of culture clashes. And it certainly doesn't touch on claims that this rural township is practicing bias, supposedly trying to shoo frugal local Amish residents from villages that are growing more upscale as the population spills outward from the State College area and its economic dynamo, Penn State University. Those issues, though,...

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/jan/01052003/utah/utah.asp

On January 5, 2003 The Salt Lake Tribune reported that "Lonnie Pursifull and other evangelicals -- who say they are called to preach to and against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- want to be heard, too. They have placed themselves outside the LDS Temple on the Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City, sharing their faith, but also taking swipes against Mormon doctrine......

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/columnists/jane_eisner/4874415.htm

On January 5, 2003 The Philadelphia Inquirer printed an editorial by Jane Eisner that stated, "the U.S. State Department has posted a series called 'Muslim Life in America,' but it is clearly for foreign consumption. The upbeat collection of stories and photographs on the department's official Web site deftly...

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/4869437.htm

On January 4, 2003 the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "the Golden Sunrise New Year Association, tempered by rain and fire, will be doubly glad to get onto Market Street [PA] for today's 2003 Mummers Parade if weather permits. Earlier this week, a fire two doors away from their Greenwich Street club, situated in an old slaughterhouse off South 2nd Street, brought Mummers from a...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=17417

On January 3, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "seven Westfield High School [MA] students are fighting the suspensions they received for passing out candy canes and religious messages to classmates before Christmas, their lawyer said yesterday... Erik Stanley, a lawyer for the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, said the high school principal gave the...