Christianity

Jehovah's Witnesses Gather to Encourage People to Study Scripture Independently

May 25, 2001

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On May 25, 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "fifteen thousand Jehovah's Witnesses from across the Midwest are expected to gather at Comiskey Park [in Chicago] for a three-day convention encouraging people to study scripture for themselves. 'We feel while many people have their own religion, much of it has been inherited, and very few people actually know why they are what they are,' said Jesse Graziani, news service representative for the Jehovah's Witnesses."

Utah Man Convicted of Polygamy

May 24, 2001

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On May 24, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune published an op-ed article by Henry Mark Holzer, a First Amendment rights expert and a professor emeritus at Brooklyn Law School, in which he condemned the conviction of Tom Green for polygamy. Holzer wrote that "the First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion." The Supreme Court ruling in a similar nineteenth-century case, Reynolds vs. United States, "reeks with blatant racism." The justices in that case condemned polygamy because it was "almost exclusively a...

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Couple Combines Christian and Hindu Ceremonies at Wedding

May 24, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On May 24, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "when Wendy Hulsing of Dickinson, N.D., and Sanjaya Gupta of Chesterfield decided to marry, they wanted a two-ceremony wedding, Christian and Hindu, with all the trimmings, including" a horse for the groom to ride in the traditional Hindu barat. "The barat is the tumultuous, slow parade of the groom and his family to the home of the bride-to-be."

Utah Man Convicted of Polygamy

May 24, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On May 24, 2001, The New York Times reported that "a conviction of a Utah man on bigamy charges last week caused anxiety about the state's polygamists, many of whom have grown fearful that prosecutors may now be eager to bring them to trial on the same charges." The conviction may make polygamous families "more reluctant to seek outside help for child abuse, domestic violence, and emergencies." Some members of polygamous families contend that Tom Green presents a false image of polygamy because he has "wives and children in far...

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Leader of Syrian Catholic Church Speaks in L.A. about Middle East Conflict

May 23, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On May 23, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "congregants of the city's only Melkite Church welcomed Syria's new Catholic leader to Los Angeles, comparing the visit by black-robed Gregory III to an appearance by the Roman Catholic pope...The 67-year-old 'patriarch of Alexandria, Jerusalem and all the East,' stopped briefly in Los Angeles to greet parishioners and draw attention to unrest in the Middle East... One of the largest of the Eastern rite churches, the Melkite Church has been called a 'voice for the East within the...

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Judge's Ruling Forbids School-Sponsored Baccalaureate Services

May 23, 2001

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On May 23, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "in a ruling yesterday afternoon from his courtroom in Johnstown [Pennsylvania], U.S. District Chief Judge D. Brooks Smith told the 1,000-student school district that it couldn't hold the May 31 baccalaureate service in the school auditorium, sponsor the service or conduct rehearsals for it. Doing otherwise would be a First Amendment violation, Smith ruled...Berlin Brothersvalley was [thus] ushered out of the dwindling minority of school districts still conducting...

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Florida Pagan Protests Christian School Board Prayer

May 23, 2001

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On May 23, 2001, St. Petersburg Times reported that School Board Chairwoman Patience Nave "asked a deputy at Tuesday's meeting to remove Charles Schrader, a Wiccan who has protested the board's decision to open meetings with Christian prayers. On several occasions, Schrader has said his prayer aloud as board members have said their prayers."

Rabbi Gives Walton Baccalaureate Speech at Civic Center

May 23, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On May 23, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that 1,000 people came to hear Rabbi Steven Lebow deliver his baccalaureate address to Walton High School's graduating seniors inside the Cobb County Civic Center. "Lebow's speech has been the talk around the lockers and lunchrooms of Walton High for weeks, said...a graduating senior...'I thought it was wonderful,' she said. 'Very appropriate and very well thought out.'"

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

May 23, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On May 23, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that 1,000 people came to hear Rabbi Steven Lebow deliver his baccalaureate address to Walton High School's graduating seniors inside the Cobb County Civic Center. "Lebow's speech has been the talk around the lockers and lunchrooms of Walton High for weeks, said...a graduating senior...'I thought it was wonderful,' she said. 'Very appropriate and very well thought out.'"

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

May 22, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On May 22, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Walton High School's long-awaited and contentious baccalaureate ceremony will be at 7 tonight at the Cobb County Civic Center...The baccalaureate originally was slated to be held at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in east Cobb. But...the Rev. Randy Mickler, pastor of Mount Bethel, vetoed [Rabbi Steven] Lebow making his speech from Mount Bethel's pulpit."

Rabbi Gives Walton Baccalaureate Speech at Civic Center

May 22, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On May 22, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Walton High School's long-awaited and contentious baccalaureate ceremony will be at 7 tonight at the Cobb County Civic Center...The baccalaureate originally was slated to be held at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in east Cobb. But...the Rev. Randy Mickler, pastor of Mount Bethel, vetoed [Rabbi Steven] Lebow making his speech from Mount Bethel's pulpit."

Utah Man Convicted of Polygamy

May 20, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On May 20, 2001, The New York Times reported that "a Utah man has been convicted on four counts of bigamy and one count of failing to pay child support...The man, Tom Green, 52,...has five wives and has fathered 30 children...Mr. Green...says his lifestyle is a God-given choice...Polygamy arrived in Utah in the 1840's, when members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled in the state...The church disavowed polygamy in 1890."

Survey Finds Growing Number of Foreign-Born Catholic Priests

May 19, 2001

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On May 19, 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on "a growing number of foreign-born men filling out the ranks of the Roman Catholic priesthood in the United States. Nearly a third of the men ordained in the United States this year were born elsewhere, according to a survey by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops."

Seminar at UCLA Explores How to Bring Peace to Middle East

May 19, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On May 19, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "a daylong seminar on ways to bring peace to the Holy Land...held...at UCLA by a coalition of liberal Jewish peace activists, Muslim organizations and Christians." The seminar is called "The Israeli-Palestinian Crisis: New Conversations for a Pluralist Future."

Interfaith Dialogue with Dalai Lama Finds Ways for Diverse Religions to Coexist Peacefully

May 19, 2001

Source: Star Tribune

On May 19, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on an interfaith dialogue with seven local clergy and the Dalai Lama. The topic of the panel was "'How Can Diverse Religions Communities Create Peace in the World?' In their response, the Dalai Lama and this distinguished panel promoted the idea that religions can be diverse without being a lot different. 'All religions carry same teaching, same goal, same potential,' the Dalai Lama said."

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