Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On June 29, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "in a meeting with international leaders of the religious order that founded the school, Duquesne University's president-elect promised to 'work to deepen our Catholic commitment.' Charles Dougherty...spoke to 50 Spiritans, or Holy Ghost Fathers, from 35 nations and four continents who have gathered at Duquesne...'I think that Catholic universities in general, and Duquesne in particular, have to be more reflective and intentional about our religious tradition,'" said...

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On June 29, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "use of the telephone would seem in conflict with the Amish community's...lifestyle. But [Indiana] area Old Order Amish families have had pay phones in their settlements for decades. 'They don't view the phone as evil,'" explains a professor of history at Goshen College. "'They view the phone as a tool that must be controlled, or it will control them.'...Amish families generally use community phone booths for three types of calls: to report a medical, fire or...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On June 29, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "an intensive Christian education program at the Tarrant County jail unconstitutionally promoted the religious views of the former sheriff, the Texas Supreme Court ruled...Inmates who volunteered for the program spent 120 days studying...'orthodox Christianity.'...Participants had to accept the Bible as infallible truth, believe in Jesus Christ as deity and be 'born again' to attain salvation." The sheriff and chaplain "would not allow instructors to discuss any other...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 28, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "legislation mirroring President Bush's faith-based initiative moves forward today after the White House and lawmakers reached an agreement on constitutional concerns. The full House Judiciary Committee will vote on whether to recommend" the bill. "The legislation...has been altered to strengthen the wall between church and state."

Source: Star Tribune

On June 28, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that "more than 3,000 visitors assemble in Minneapolis... for the National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service...Much discussion during their conference will focus on the role of religion in the nonprofit sector." The topic has been much discussed since Bush introduced his faith-based initiative.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On June 28, 2001, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "Protestant pastors and a Jewish rabbi gathered at the state Capitol...to demand change in a school funding system they view as unjust, immoral and outrageous. They promised to organize their congregations and communities into a grass-roots campaign to 'target' lawmakers in the next election...They lamented the disparity between rich and poor school districts."

Source: Dayton Daily News

On June 28, 2001, the Dayton Daily News reported that Ashton McDaniel is the newly elected president of Church Women United in Greater Dayton. "Church Women United is an ecumenical movement of Christian women who witness to their faith through worship, study, action, celebration and global relationships." It is open to all denominations.

Source: The Morning Call

On June 28, 2001, The Morning Call reported on Albert Poe, who "was born into a Methodist family 41 years ago but stopped going to church in his late teens...He began discussing religion with Jewish buddies, and something felt right to him about a faith that he saw as 'a way of life.'...To convert, [he] took six months of classes, learning basic Hebrew, a brief history of Judaism and the basis for Jewish holidays."

Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

On June 27, 2001, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that "the [Westboro, Massachusetts] Board of Selectmen...approved a menorah display for the downtown rotary in December, reversing its earlier position on the issue...Selectmen worried that allowing a menorah display would open it to any number of unwanted displays...Westboro Town Counsel Alan F. Dodd said in a report to selectmen last night that the town cannot forbid the free exchange of ideas at the rotary."

Source: The Seattle Times

On June 27, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "students would be permitted to say nondisruptive prayers in the classroom, and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny could be part of holiday displays in school hallways, under proposed policy changes that will be presented tonight to the Kent School Board. The changes would replace strict guidelines the district put into effect last fall," that drew objections from students, parents and others.

Source: The Boston Globe

On June 27, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "the tradition of receiving the Roman Catholic sacrament for the first time threatens to go over the top in this city of lavish expenditures [Miami]...In many affluent Hispanic communities in South Florida...the extravagant affairs have become a common ritual, putting friends and neighbors in a competition to throw the biggest Communion bash...For many Cuban-Americans...[First Communion] is not only a rite of passage but an indicator of success and status."

Source: The Providence Journal-Bulletin

On June 26, 2001, The Providence Journal-Bulletin reported that "delegates to the Biennial Meeting of the American Baptist Churches-USA voted by a ratio of 4 to 1 to approve a statement highly critical of [Bush's faith-based initiative] but without enough votes to make it official...The debate [at the meeting] made clear that the issue of separation of church and state remains a fundamental concern for American Baptists."

Source: The New York Times

On June 26, 2001, The New York Times reported that "16 United States senators are at loggerheads with 18 bishops from various denominations...The senators...have urged the department to drop [an] enforcement effort, in which inspectors found wage violations at...51 poultry plants [and told the plants to pay $350 million in back wages]...But the religious leaders want the Labor Department to press ahead, saying the poultry workers need the government's protection."

Source: The Morning Call

On June 25, 2001, the Allentown Morning Call reported that "Bethlehem police stopped by [Tea Javashvili's] party...after receiving reports that partygoers were slaughtering sheep, a violation within city limits." Javashvili's Orthodox Catholic family had immigrated from Georgia, the former Soviet republic. They said the lamb they were using "was dead when they bought it from a local butcher, and they were cutting it up in their back yard as part of a religious practice."

Source: The Washington Post

On June 24, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "concerned about the loss of traditionally Catholic Latinos to Protestant evangelical and Pentecostal churches that energetically proselytize for new members, more Catholics have decided to respond in kind...About 200 Catholic Latinos from local parishes...fanned out in heavily Latino neighborhoods of Northwest Washington ...in an evangelization effort sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington...In the Washington archdiocese,...170,000 of the 510,000 Catholics are of Hispanic...