Source: Sightings

On July 25, 2001, Sightings reported that "the front page of the Chicago Tribune Metro section for July fifth shows two pictures of religion in America that capture well its ambivalence as a public force. The first story concerns [a] Hindu leader...A woman of humble Indian birth, Amritandandamayi now touches the lives of a worldwide community...[She] hugs follower after follower, at times for eighteen straight hours...Directly below this story of religious diversity and the power of shared affection is a picture of Richard Loy,...

Source: USA TODAY

On July 25, 2001, USA TODAY published an opinion piece that said that "it appears that faith-based groups will be making a deal with the devil by signing up for federal funds...When it comes to a church's staff...each church has the right to employ those who hold to the tenets of their faith...Secular demands such as anti-discrimination regulations will bring only negative consequences."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On July 25, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "a former high-school football coach who led his players in prayer has filed a lawsuit against some members and supporters of a now-defunct parents group, accusing them of slander and libel. David Daubenmire...is suing supporters of Citizens Advocating Responsible Education, which...had sought his dismissal in the late 1990s. Daubenmire resigned on Jan. 6, 2000, after the American Civil Liberties Union sued him and school officials claiming the coach was leading religious...

Source: The Washington Post

On July 25, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "a federal appeals court yesterday upheld Virginia's moment of silence law, ruling that requiring public school children to begin each day with meditation does not violate the First Amendment's ban on state-sponsored religion. Seven families backed by the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the 2000 law, saying it promoted religion...ACLU volunteer attorney Stuart Newberger vowed an immediate appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On July 24, 2001, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "on Sept. 15 at least 2,000 Catholics are expected at the A.J. Palumbo Center for an enthusiastic celebration of their faith, known as a FIRE Rally...FIRE stands for Faith, Intercession, Repentance and Evangelism, which summarizes the major themes of the rallies...Talks will be given by well-known speakers."

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 24, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "a Houston emergency medical technician has sued a private ambulance company [for religious discrimination], saying it forced him to quit his job after he quoted Scripture and discussed Jesus with patients en route to the hospital...[Andrew] Colvin wasn't proselytizing, the suit says, but was consoling patients and their family members when he spoke about Christian matters."

Source: The New York Times

On July 24, 2001, The New York Times reported that, "in Canada, Mr. Bush's [faith-based] initiative would be superfluous, because the government has financed faith-based organizations for most of the last 100 years without any worry that church and state were too close." Now the Canadian government is cutting back on funds to social services, however. The president of the housing corporation at Newtonbrook United Church siad, "I don't think it's good to have everything done by the government. But I think that maybe this has...

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 24, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Pope John Paul II told President Bush...that the creation of embryos for scientific research was immoral" in a meeting between the two at the pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The two also discussed foreign policy, including poverty alleviation. "Bush has been making efforts to reach out to the nation's 62 million Catholics."

Source: Newsday

On July 23, 2001, Newsday published an editorial that said, "The House has just passed a constitutionally iffy bill...It's an improvement on the costly 'faith-based initiative' originally proposed by President...Bush, but it still needs a lot of work to merit passage by the Senate...The best thing the House did was shrink the new tax breaks the bill would offer to charitable givers...[However,] organizations, religious or otherwise, that violate state antidiscrimination laws shouldn't be eligible for federal funding."

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 23, 2001, The Boston Globe published an editorial on Bush's faith-based bill, which said, "the bill ought to die in [the Senate] for sheer lack of clarity." Its guarantee to religious groups of autonomy and its prohibition of proselytizing, for example, are contradictory, the piece said. "The United States has thrived by keeping church and state at arm's length."

Source: The Washington Post

On July 23, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "state officials announced that the petition drive [to repeal Maryland's new gay rights law] has netted 47,539 valid signatures, enough to delay the law's implementation and put the matter before Maryland voters...The drive owes its unexpected success to an unusual coalition of Catholics, Baltimore Muslims, social conservatives and Christian activists...Coalition leaders are largely ignoring the law's stated intent of extending legal protections to gays and focusing instead on...

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 22, 2001, The Boston Globe reported on "the potential financial bonanza for churches, synagogues and other religious organizations sitting on increasingly valuable parcels of land...In the city itself, the value of real estate owned by religious denominations has doubled over the last five years...At the same time, many religious denominations...are scrambling for money."

Source: The Harford Courant

On July 22, 2001, The Harford Courant published an editorial on the faith-based initiative recently passed in the House, which said, "the House inadvisably strengthened what Thomas Paine called 'the adulterous connection of church and state.'...It will now be up to the Senate to say no to a well-meaning but constitutionally offensive."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 21, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "some future neighbors of the North Coast Church campus [an evangelical church] say the 365,000-square-foot complex -- as big as three typical Wal-Mart stores -- will destroy the area's country character with bright lights, big buildings and an increase in traffic. And, a neighborhood group says the City Council could face a lawsuit if it approves the project."

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On July 20, 2001, The Baltimore Sun reported that "the House voted mostly along party lines...to approve a bill to allow more federal money to go to religious charities that deliver social services...The leaders secured the votes after pledging that changes would be made to the bill after it goes to the Senate to bar religious groups that receive federal money from discriminating on other grounds, particularly against homosexuals...The bill faces an uncertain future...in the Democratic-led Senate."