Source: Newsday

On January 15, 2002, Newsday reported that "after Sept. 11, many turned to God for comfort and hope. Prayer took on greater significance. But two religious leaders have come under attack by their own brethren for praying in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks... Rev. David Benke is president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Atlantic District... and is pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Brooklyn... Benke participated in 'A Prayer Service for America' at Yankee Stadium with politicians, celebrities and representatives from...

Source: The Deseret News

On January 14, 2002, The Deseret News reported that "three meeting houses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were evacuated Sunday following separate bomb threats." The incidents are being investigated by Sandy, Utah Police Lt. Kevin Thacker. "In each incident, a male with a young sounding voice called to express his dislike for the LDS Church and then said there was an explosive device in the building, Thacker said. In each case, the meeting house was evacuated and closed for the day while police went through each...

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 14, 2002, The Boston Globe featured "American Dream," an editorial about America's search for meaning. "Considered a sacred object in [Native American] culture, the web-like dream catcher - which is supposed to hang above a baby's cradle to trap nightmares and let good dreams into the soul - has become a staple in mall trinket stores... But while this popularization of the spiritual can be written off as the co-opting and secularizing of a belief system, it is, at its heart, a search for meaning... Our society is a...

Source: The New York Times

On January 10, 2002, The New York Times reported that "in a case widely seen as the first legal challenge to the constitutionality of President Bush's religion-based initiative, a federal court in Wisconsin has ordered the state to stop giving money to a drug and alcohol addiction program that relied heavily on Christian spirituality in its approach to treatment... Faith Works has received nearly $1 million from Wisconsin, much of it during the tenure of [former] Gov. Tommy G. Thompson... In a decision made public late Tuesday,...

Source: The Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locinterfaith07010702jan07.story?coll=orl%2Dnews%2Dheadlines

On January 7, 2002, The Orlando Sentinel reported "World's faiths converge to urge peace, harmony." The article noted, "In the ballroom of the Rosen Plaza Hotel on International Drive in Orlando, the faces and families reflected the changing religious complexions of Central Florida...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000001664jan07.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation

On January 7, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that in Wisconsin, "a state representative from... West Salem is leading a drive to yank funding for Witch's $32,500-a-year post, saying taxpayers 'shouldn't be forced to accept this hocus-pocus.' Two other lawmakers have joined him in outrage; one...

Source: Portsmouth Herald

http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/1_3living_a.htm

On January 3, 2002 the Portsmouth Herald published an article in which a New Hampshire family, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explained the tenants of their religion and and attempted to correct many of the stereotypes Americans have concerning members of their faith.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 1, 2002, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "Catholics throughout the United States have been asked to pray the rosary today for peace... The U.S. bishops called for the special day of prayer at their national meeting in mid-November, which left little time for dioceses or parishes to organize special events. But the rosary -- a series of prayers counted on beads as people meditate on the lives of Mary and Jesus -- is a devotion that can be prayed anywhere."

Source: The Seattle Times

On December 31, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "several hundred people are expected to gather at Seattle's Green Lake for an interfaith Walking Meditation for Peace. They will say goodbye to a year they say was filled with too much blood spilled, and they'll pray for peace among religions in 2002... This will be the third annual walk and the first one featuring prayers from seven faiths... This year, more local religious institutions are involved, representing Quakers, Catholics, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists,...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 30, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "as 2002 dawns, relations between Jews and Muslims... in the United States are tense at best, murderous at worst... In this country, the Jewish community has been resentful at the failure of Muslim organizations to condemn terrorist attacks in Israel, and these groups are angry that U.S. Jewish groups haven't spoken out about the plight of the Palestinians. In the midst of this grim standoff, at least a few hopeful signs exist that relations between Jews and Muslims in...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 29, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath dominated the Top 10 religion news stories of 2001 in a survey of religion reporters... The Islamic terrorist [Osama bin Laden] showed 'how easily religion and religious fervor can be hijacked to serve political ends, substituting hatred and intolerance for the compassion encouraged by all of the world's religions,' one voter stated... [In the survey], the top story selected by newswriters was the attack and the...

Source: Newsday

On December 29, 2001, Newsday featured an article on three stories of religious conversion. Harpritam Kaur describes her spiritual journey to her conversion to Sikhism. "One Sunday morning in 1997 as she walked past a gas station on her way to church, she saw a young man wearing a turban pacing back and forth and praying. 'You could see the love of God in this man,' she recalls. Kaur says she thought he was a Muslim - at the time she didn't know who the Sikhs were - until she stopped to talk to him... Kaur began attending the Sikh Cultural...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/teacher/index.php

On December 27, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "teaching about religion is tough terrain for public school teachers, but something that a growing number of educators believe is imperative to help young people understand not only the forces that drive human history but also the diversity in their own neighborhoods. Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks generated new interest in...

Source: Newsday

On December 27, 2001, Newsday reported that "at 6 p.m. New Year's Eve, church bells, gongs, organs and even shofars, or ram's horns, will sound from the five boroughs to Battery Park, from Rockville Centre to Riverside Drive, as thousands of houses of worship [in New York] commemorate the victims of terrorism and offer prayers for peace, say organizers from the Partnership of Faith, an 11-year-old consortium of churches, temples and mosques... Those in mosques and synagogues that don't have bells are being asked to offer symbols and prayers...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On December 26, 2001, The Hartford Courant featured an article on the Christmas dinner and gift giving for those in need at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, CT. "What distinguished this dinner from previous years, was the increase in the number of volunteers, said the Rev. King T. Hayes, pastor of Albany Avenue church. Forty-eight had signed up to help Hayes said... 'Some are Jewish, some from the Unitarian Church and they are of all races... The bottom line is helping somebody. They feel the joy of helping somebody.'"