Author: Erika Jacobson Moore

Source: Leesburg Today

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/12/10/news/9956displays121009.txt

As many predicted during the debate about whether holiday displays should be allowed on the grounds of the courthouse, the controversy did not end with the vote of the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday and what started as a request to place a Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn has branched out in...

Author: William Wan

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120903712.html?hpid=topnews

Can you believe in Jesus and in astrology? The answer is a resounding yes, according to a study that shows Americans' beliefs to be more complex than might be expected.

The survey -- one of the first by a major polling group to tackle Americans' belief...

Author: Verena Dobnik

Source: Delaware Online/USA TODAY

Wire Service: AP

Author: Patrick Condon

Source: Yahoo News

Wire Service: AP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_re/us_rel_religion_today

Angie O'Neill recently moved into a new apartment complex for seniors and she's trying to make new friends. But Christmas is a tough time of year for an atheist.

"All the planned activities at this time of year revolve around the church," said O'Neill, a retiree and...

Author: Christopher Landau

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8399758.stm

What happens when an imam, a priest and a rabbi get into a lift together?

It may sound like a joke, but it is an everyday occurrence at the world's largest inter-faith gathering - and such unexpected encounters are positively encouraged.

The Parliament of the World's Religions has brought together representatives from 80 nationalities and...

Author: Stephanie Fenton

Source: AnnArbor.com

http://www.annarbor.com/faith/religious-leaders-discuss-interfaith-following-showing-of-fremont-usa/

Rabbis, parishioners, volunteers and interfaith workers recently participated in an active discussion following the Ann Arbor Public Library’s screening of “Fremont, U.S.A.,” a film created as part of The Pluralism Project at...

Author: Amita Verma

Source: Deccan Chronicle

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/national/hindu-muslim-wedding-under-one-roof-663

For those who preach communal harmony, this was a fantastic premier.

The Muslim Maulvi and the Hindu Pandit sat side by side to solemnize the wedding of a Muslim couple and a Hindu couple under the same roof.

This unique event took place in Dalel Purwa locality in Kanpur on...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Seattle Times

Wire Service: AP

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010432491_apwacapitolholidaydisplays.html

A Seattle atheist group and a Jewish group are applying to put up holiday displays on the Capitol campus in Olympia again this year.

A spokesman from Seattle Atheists says the sign they want to post is less provocative...

Source: Zee News

http://www.zeenews.com/news584553.html

Several Hindu and Muslim groups have decided to take out a march on the 17th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6 to promote peace and communal harmony, even as many political parties will be observing the day as "dhikkar" and "kalank" diwas. 

"With a message of peace and communal harmony we will start Karwan-e-Aman from Ayodhya to Ajmer Shareef on December 6 to promote Hindu...

Author: Barney Zwartz

Source: The Age

http://www.theage.com.au/national/blessings-aplenty-as-worlds-religions-gather-20091204-k93h.html

Counting their blessings was an important part of the opening of the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne last night: a round dozen of them, each in its respective religion's fullest ceremonial richness and colour.

About 4000 delegates had their week-...

Author: Rob Luff

Source: Public Opinion

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_13854798?source=most_viewed

An atheistic and agnostic group plans to seek legal action against the Borough of Chambersburg following a decision Monday night that bans anything other than flags and flowers from adorning the Memorial Square fountain war memorial.

The unanimous decision from Chambersburg Borough Council came after Carl Silverman,...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Economist

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15019864

On a manicured lawn within the grounds of the Arkansas state capitol in Little Rock a Nativity scene is erected each Advent. It is causing all sorts of problems. Shouldn’t other religions (or, for that matter, those who reject organised religion altogether) get their chance to show off? Doesn...

Author: Eric Fingerhut

Source: JTA

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2009/12/01/1009477/adl-ajc-join-brief-on-wiccan-clergyman

The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have signed on to an Americans United for Church and State amicus brief arguing that a Wiccan clergyman should be able to challenge a state prison policy that limits paid chaplaincy positions to people who are...

Author: Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Source: The Fresno Bee

http://www.fresnobee.com/641/story/1731279.html

A runaway Christian convert and her Muslim family must listen to each other's views about religion if they are to reunite, a possibility that appears in jeopardy since the girl continues to refuse any contact with her parents or siblings, a caseworker says.

A case-management plan filed Monday said Rifqa Bary and her parents should hear what each...

Author: Erika Jacobson Moore

Source: Leesburg Today

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/12/03/news/9970display120109.txt

Taking the Grinch out of Loudoun's holiday season, the Board of Supervisors today voted to overturn the decision of the Courthouse Grounds and Facility Task Force to prohibit displays of all kinds on the grounds of the historic courthouse in Leesburg.

The decision to allow all religious...