Author: Kevin Eckstrom

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/muslims_to_pray_for_soul_of_america_at_capitol1/

Swapping prayer rugs for massive plastic rain tarps, an estimated 3,500 Muslims gathered at the foot of the U.S. Capitol on Friday (Sept. 25) to pray for “the soul of America” in a grassroots demonstration of religious and national pride.

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Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles

On September 24, 2002 The Daily News of Los Angeles reported that "Patricia Abdullah... [a] white Muslim woman from Sherman Oaks donated a life-saving kidney to... Mike Jones... [an] African-American Christian man in a Sept. 25 [2001] operation performed by two surgeons at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center - one Jewish, the other German. A year later, Abdullah wants us to know this: The quality of her life has not diminished after donating a kidney to Jones. It's gotten better... from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, at the Sizzler...

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On September 23, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that "the growing diversity in the Streamwood, Bartlett and Hanover Park area is reflected in the variety of places of worship. Swami Narayan Temple - the largest Hindu temple in the Northwest suburbs - is in Bartlett. So is the only Jain temple in Illinois... and a Lutheran Christian Church that caters primarily to Chinese and Taiwanese members opened in Streamwood about five years ago... True Light Lutheran Christian Church draws from the greater Chicago area, where...

Source: The Associated Press

On September 22, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "Minnesota's religious landscape became more diverse in the 1990s, although the state remains mostly Lutheran and Catholic, according to a survey of U.S. religious institutions. From 1990 to 2000, the state has seen double digit percentage increases for Jews and the Latter-day Saints. Muslims were also counted in significant numbers for the first time. The research also found that Minnesota has more evangelical Christians and fewer mainline Protestants... Minnesota is...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 21, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "in recent years, St. Sophia [Greek Orthodox Church] has helped start a free summer camp for underprivileged youth, raised funds to help provide uniforms for a nearby public school and counseling, art and tutoring programs... St. Sophia has been a driving force in transforming the neighborhood from an embattled bus corridor between downtown and the Pico district into a bustling business district officially christened the 'Byzantine-Latino Quarter.' [Many say]... the...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On September 21, 2002, The San Francisco Chronicle featured an article on the Glenmary study. "Nationally, the study reflected growing spiritual diversity in the United States by including such once-exotic faiths as Islam, Buddhism and Zorastrianism for the first time...     But the way the study counted American Muslims - and did not include millions of African American Christians - has sparked a statistical brouhaha... Researchers estimated Friday that the report, titled 'Religious Congregations and Membership in the...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 19, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an advocacy group... the [District of Columbia public] school system appears to have violated... a memo from the school system's general counsel, headed 'Religious Neutrality Requirements' and sent to all school and central office administrators,... [which] told employees to 'be mindful that we are required under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to avoid entanglement with religious issues and...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On September 18, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the survey, 'Religious Congregations...

Source: The New York Times

On September 18, 2002, The New York Times reported on "the study, 'Religious Congregations and Membership: 2000'... Because the Census Bureau does not ask about religion, some scholars regard this study, first done in 1971, as the most comprehensive assessment available of the changes in American religious affiliation. The study is based on self-reporting by religious groups, a method that the study's authors acknowledge is imprecise because religious groups can inflate their numbers. The study was conducted by Glenmary...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 18, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the number of Catholics in the Atlanta metro area more than doubled over the last 10 years... And defying a national trend, most mainline Protestant denominations in the area --- such as United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (USA) --- gained members in the same time period... Southern Baptists held their No. 1 position in the South and in metro Atlanta. However, the survey does not account for "Black Baptists," which include...

Source: The Washington Post

September 17, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "according to 'Religious Congregations...

Source: Newsday

On September 14, 2002 Newsday reported on "Benedict Tallant... a pastor of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church [in Alabama], the oldest patriarchal Russian congregation in the South. St. Nicholas - which has about 70 members and averages 30 people for its Sunday service - is under the auspices of Alexy II, head of the church in Russia. St. Nicholas was organized in 1894 for Slavic immigrants who came to Alabama to work in the coal mines. The mines played out years ago, but a half-dozen children of the immigrants remain. Because of...

Source: Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0913/p10s04-comv.html

On September 13, 2002 the Christian Science Monitor reported that "the impulse to place collective blame for 9/11 on [Muslims and Americans of Middle Eastern background] groups has surfaced in acts of prejudice and, sometimes, violence. But... there have also been acts of kindness and reassurance by Americans determined to show their Muslim neighbors or colleagues that they are...

Source: Equal Time

http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2002/09/16/smallb3.html

On September 13, 2002 Equal Time reported that "few U.S. employers list the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur as employee holidays. The same goes for Ramadan, the most religiously significant time of year for the world's 1 billion Muslims. But as the workplace has become more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse, firms have tried to...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On September 12, 2002 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "a prayer breakfast sponsored by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce offered the opportunity for interfaith prayer. Held at the St. Petersburg Hilton, the event underscored a renewed commitment to faith in this country, Baker said. Ronald Tihal, 71, a Hindu and a retired headmaster from Guyana, South America, was among more than 400 people who attended the service sponsored by the St. Petersburg Ministerial Association,...