Source: The Chicago Tribune

...

Source: The Washington Post

On February 28, 2002, The Washington Post reported that "bucking a decades-long trend in which the vast majority of new places of worship have been built in the suburbs, Our Lady of Lebanon, a 36-year-old congregation of Maronite Catholics, has begun building its first church on Alaska Avenue in Northwest Washington... The 18,000-square-foot limestone church... is intended to reflect the congregation's religious and architectural roots in Lebanon, the Middle Eastern homeland of most of its members... The high cost of...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On February 26, 2002, The Houston Chronicle reported that "for the second time in a year, the Supreme Court refused Monday to review a lower court's ban on displaying the Ten Commandments on government property, leaving states in confusion over whether such monuments are constitutional... Attorneys general in nine states, including Texas, had urged the court to hear the matter to resolve conflicting court opinions around the country. Judges in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin have forbidden Ten Commandments monuments on...

Source: The Washington Post

On February 25, 2002, The Washington Post reported that "tensions within the walls of Muslim day schools are in many ways emblematic of the U.S. Muslim community's political concerns, fears, biases and hopes, all brought into sharp focus since the events of Sept. 11... The fall attacks could serve as the catalyst in determining whether these schools and their students focus on the culture and politics of faraway Muslim lands or find within Islamic tradition those ideals consistent with U.S. democracy and religious liberty...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On February 24, 2002, The Times-Picayune reported that "more than just a declaration of faith, the hundreds of new Jesus signs [in Franklinton, LA] are in direct, if not defiant, response to a lawsuit filed last month by the American Civil Liberties Union, which forced the removal of some other religious signs that proclaimed 'Jesus is Lord Over Franklinton' at entrances to the city... The suit was initiated by New Orleans resident Linton Carney, who was driving through Franklinton last year and said he was offended by the...

Source: Newsday

On February 24, 2002, Newsday featured the editorial "Pat Robertson Is at It Again." It noted that "on Thursday night, Robertson showed a sharply slanted segment on Muslim immigrants in America, portraying many of them as apologists for terrorism." The article quoted the following dialogue: "co-host Lee Webb had a question for Robertson: 'As for the Muslim immigrants, Pat, it makes you wonder, if they have such contempt for our foreign policy why they'd even want to live here?' ... 'Well,' Robertson allowed, 'as missionaries possibly to...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On February 23, 2002, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "the St. Louis region's Orthodox Christians, many of them second- and third-generation Americans, are looking past the national and cultural roots that separated their ancestors' religious gatherings in this country for a century... Now, many want to focus on what they have in common as American Orthodox Christians, as do the growing numbers of Protestant converts to Orthodoxy. A new local pan-Orthodox organization called Orthodox Witness wants to help...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 23, 2002, The Star Tribune reported that "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the main religion in Utah, but other faiths - among them Judaism, Buddhism and even Hare Krishnas [ISKCON] - have found a place in the mountains... the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple... This Hindu temple, with 350 families actively worshipping, is flourishing... In the shadow of the Delta Center, home to Olympic figure skating, sits the Buddhist Temple of Salt Lake City, one of 16 Buddhist centers in the state... It's a...

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 23, 2002, The Seattle Times reported that "religious broadcaster Pat Robertson drew criticism yesterday from Arab Americans and others for describing Islam as a violent religion that wants to 'dominate and then, if need be, destroy'... Robertson made the comment Thursday on his '700 Club' television program... 'The rhetoric is exactly the same as traditional anti-Semitism. All you can do is change the word 'Jew' to 'Arab' or 'Muslim,' ' said Hussein Ibish, spokesman for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On February 23, 2002, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "about 2,500 Milwaukee-area Muslims gathered Friday to celebrate one of Islam's holiest days and to learn from a prophet who is a central figure in the world's three great monotheistic religions -- the prophet Abraham... The spelling of his name varies from one religious tradition to another. So do details of his life. What remains rock solid in Islam, Judaism and Christianity is his greatness... And in Islam, that was illustrated by the event...

Source: The Denver Post

On February 22, 2002, The Denver Post featured a report that "stung by criticism of limits on worship space at Stapleton, the Interfaith Council at Stapleton will draw up a list of restrictions so religious leaders can at least know the ground rules from the beginning... Letters will be sent soon to hundreds of religious organizations that may want to build worship centers, said Landri Taylor, a spokesman for Forest City Inc., which is developing the former Stapleton airport... The amount of land churches, synagogues, mosques...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49436-2002Feb21.html

On February 22, 2002, The Washington Post featured the story "Robertson Calls Islam a Religion of Violence, Mayhem." It reported that "Television evangelist Pat Robertson yesterday described Islam as a violent religion bent on world domination, drawing immediate protests from American Muslims." The article quoted Robertson: "'ladies and gentlemen, I have taken...

Source: The Interfaith Alliance

http://www.interfaithalliance.org/Newsroom/press/2002/020222.htm

On February 22, 2002, Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance issued a press release "Robertson’s Characterization of Islam: A Disgrace to Religion, Harmful to Healing Nation." It read, in part: "Islam, Christianity and Judaism all adhere to teachings that espouse the common values of peace, compassion and human dignity. Islam, as all other religions...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0220/p01s02-ussc.html

On February 20, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "by focusing on the concept of government neutrality toward religious groups rather than mandating a hands-off relationship between church and state, the [Supreme] Court has blurred the line barring tax revenues from flowing to faith-based schools... Today, the nation's highest court takes up a case involving a...

Source: USA TODAY

On February 20, 2002, USA TODAY reported that "patriotic fervor in the wake of the terrorist attacks has helped revive an effort to post the words 'In God We Trust' in every school in the nation... 'This has exploded because of 9/11,' says Donald Wildmon, president of the American Family Association... Leaders of the fundamentalist Christian group have been working for three years to persuade states to display the national motto in school libraries, cafeterias and classrooms. The group even pledged to defend in court any legal...