Source: The New York Times

On August 28, 1999, The New York Times reported that Metropolitan Demetrios, the Greek theologian, as been appointed as the next head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Demetrios, 71, studied and taught in the United States in the 1970s and 80's and will arrive in New York on September 15th. Three days later he will be enthroned at a ceremony in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York.

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

On July 31, 1999 Akron Beacon Journal featured an article on the research of Northern Ohio's religious diversity by Pluralism Project affiliates. The "growth in religious diversity has been examined by two Kent State University researchers... Dr. David Odell-Scott, associate professor of philosophy... and Dr. Surinder M. Bhardwaj, a professor of geography... received a 1998 grant through the Pluralism Project at Harvard University to map the religious diversity of Northern Ohio... As a result of that work, the researchers have...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 19, 1999, the Los Angeles Times published an article on the anti-Semitic faith of the two suspects under investigation for the three synagogue fires in Sacramento and the murder of a gay couple in Redding, California. The two suspects, brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, are said to belong to a sect called Christian Identity, which considers Jews and people of color subhuman, and views abortion and homosexuality as unpardonable sins. Christian Identity, which experts believe has as many as 50,000...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On July 18, 1999, the St. Petersburg Times published an article on a court case, Bollard vs. California Province of the Society of Jesus, that presents a difficult church-state problem. John Bollard, who was training for the Jesuit priesthood and teaching at St. Ignatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco and then at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley from 1989 to 1996, claims that two priests "who could control his fate within the church would send him pornographic cards of sexually aroused men." Bollard, who...

Source: The Morning Call

On July 15, 1999 the Morning Call published an article entitled, "Cultural Diversity to be Tracked: Researchers Will Study Religious Diversity in Schuylkill." The article reported that researchers, E. Allen Richardson and Catherine Cameron, from Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania are working in conjunction with Harvard University to track what changes a Hindu temple has brought to the mostly Christian community of Summit Station, Pennsylvania. "The researchers will first look at how the Pottsville-area Christian community has...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On June 22, 1999, The Christian Science Monitor published an article on the current decisions made by the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court on issues dealing with the separation of church and state. The House of Representatives voted by a margin of 248 to 180 to approve a bill that would allow states to display the Ten Commandments in public schools. The Supreme Court decided a case that allows parents in Milwaukee to use publicly funded education vouchers to send their children to parochial schools.

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On June 11, 1999, The Freedom Forum Online offered an Associated Press article reporting that Religious groups urge Christians to boycott Army over Wiccans. The Houston Chronicle published a similar article stating that "conservative Christian organizations this week called for a nationwide boycott of the Army, demanding it reverse its policy of accommodating soldiers with alternative religious beliefs."

Source: The New York Times

On April 2, 1999, The New York Times published an article on the Passover celebrated in Brooklyn by the United Spiritual Church of God, a Guyanese Christian evangelical denomination that practices the tenets of Judaism. The United Spiritual Church, one of about 50 in the United States, conducted the Passover celebration with a non-Jewish seder meal and dances to Caribbean and African rhythms. Though the Passover is celebrated as the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, the meaning of matzoh is transformed into a holy communion. Neil Felix, a...

Source: The Buffalo News

On March 20, 1999, The Buffalo News reported on the new national advertising campaign called "God Speaks," which features billboards with black backgrounds and white lettering that are all signed by God. "The non-denominational ads - meant to pique the interest of people who don't attend church - began in Florida and have appeared in northern Texas and recently in North Carolina." Signs like "Keep using my name in vain and I'll make rush hour longer," "Loved the wedding, invite me to the marriage," and "Have you read my 1 best...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On January 28, 1999, The Baltimore Sun published an article on the Papal declarations made during the Pope's visit to St. Louis. Pope John Paul II called for a "new evangelism" in the new millennium, which valorizes the rights and dignity of the human person. With reference to the United States, the Pope urged an end to racism, the death penalty, and advocated for the nation's Roman Catholics to be "unconditionally pro-life."

Source: The New York Times

On January 27, 1999, The New York Times reported on the Pope's specific attention to Catholic-Jewish relations. With a rabbi reading scripture at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. Louis and a Polish-born Jew as an official guest, Catholic-Jewish relations have advanced a great deal over the course of John Paul's papacy. Rabbi A. James Rudin, the inter-religious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee, stated that, "it's a tangible sign, in the heart of America, that this Pope reaches out, especially to Jews, wherever...

Source: Newsday

On January 18, 1999, Newsday reported on the 14th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ecumenical Celebration, which was held this year at the Sons of Israel Synagogue in Woodmere, NY. Approximately 500 Jews, Christians, and Muslims attended the celebration with speakers representing all three religions.

Source: The Buffalo News

On January 2, 1999, the Buffalo News published an article on the Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Program, which is an effort to educate students in Catholic and Jewish schools about each other's faith. This program is in place in Philadelphia and similar programs exist in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. It involves a teacher-exchange situation, where a Rabbi visits to a Catholic school and a Priest visits to a Jewish school. The Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Program is funded by the Righteous...

Source: No source given.

In Somerset, MA, a 60-year tradition of a creche on the front lawn of the Somerset Town Hall was ruled unconstitutional because it violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. On December 1st, 1998, the Boston Globe reported on the federal ruling by US District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston (December 1, 1998, Boston Globe, Metro/Region, Pg. B1). Stearns ruled this particular creche presentation unconstitutional because it offered "no superabundance of secular symbols to dilute the religious message...

Source: Newsday

On December 7, 1998, Newsday reported that a fire destroyed the Nativity scene of the Village of Massapequa Park on December 4th. Steven Zimmerman, assistant chief of the Massapequa Fire Department, stated that "we don't know exactly what caused the fire, but it does seem suspicious."