Author: Ralph Dannheisser

Source: News Blaze

http://newsblaze.com/story/20080507071303tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

A Muslim, a Christian, a Jew, a Hindu and a Sikh walk into a hotel ballroom.

The opening line of a joke?

No, but in this case it was the start of a full evening of stand-up comedy aimed - its creators say - at easing religious tensions through laughter "and a healthy...

Author: Philip Pullella

Source: The Star

Wire Service: Reuters

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Benton County Daily Record

http://nwanews.com/bcdr/News/61472/

Harding University student Steven Davis of Bentonville participated in an educational tour of several religious establishments in Dallas on April 17-20. Davis, a senior public relations major, is one of 77 students who spent three days studying various world religions represented in the city.

The trip is the culmination of the class "Living World Religions," taught...

Author: Asim Khan

Source: CNN-IBN

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hindu-monk-strives-to-save-mahabodhi-temple/64497-3.html

The Mahabodhi temple is one of the holiest shrines for more than 35 crore Buddhists around the world. However, in the last few years this place has been in news for all the wrong reasons.

Today the situation is so grim that it is threatening the very existence of this holy site, including...

Author: Mourad Sellami

Source: The Arab American News

Author: FELICIA R. LEE

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/arts/television/03glob.html?scp=28&sq=religion&st=nyt

“Bridge Over the Wadi” begins with the small and familiar to examine the big and complex. The first scene in this documentary, scheduled to have its television premiere in this country Sunday night on the PBS World channel, shows two sleepy-eyed little boys and their...

Author: JOHN STRAUSBAUGH

Source: The New York Times

Author: Staff Writer

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/02/religious.freedom/index.html

China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are among 11 countries that practice religious oppression, a federal commission says.

Nevertheless, the U.S. State Department hasn't designated or re-designated those nations as "countries of particular concern," the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedoms said Friday.

The other...

Author: Janice Peterson

Source: Daily Herald

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/264836/17/

People of all faiths gathered Thursday night to pray and learn about one another's faiths in the Provo Tabernacle for Utah Valley's National Day of Prayer celebration.

The keynote speaker for the night was Mona Heern, who spoke of her experiences with religious intolerance in Iran.

"My family experienced a lot of persecution there, and...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Star

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/2/nation/21131427&sec=nation

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism has commended MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting’s remarks about Muslim converts in Parliament on Wednesday.

Its president Datuk A. Vaithilingam described Ong’s sentiments as that shared by right...

Author: Ron Orozco

Source: The Fresno Bee

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/570354.html

"It's not just a Christian event," Mayor Alan Autry said, and people of several faiths had their chance to pray -- and talk -- at Thursday's National Day of Prayer event at Fresno City Hall.

Autry, one of the speakers at the event, invited people in the audience, particularly Jews and Muslims, to speak. It was the first time in the event's 16 years that...

Author: DAWN AULET

Source: The Herald News

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/lifestyles/923779,4_5_JO01_RELIGION_S1.article

It all began with a conversation. Pam Dilday, director of student activities a Joliet Junior College, told deacon Jim Dennison of the Joliet Diocese's Office of Campus Ministry that she wanted the JJC to host a religious diversity forum.

With the help of...

Author: Catherine Jun

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/LIFESTYLE04/805010321/1041

About 100 T-shirts ordered last week and expected to arrive today will display 13 religious symbols, among them a cross, Star of David, Buddha and the Muslim crescent moon and star.

The shirt design represents the diversity promoted by the Troy Interfaith Group, said Padma...

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: The Pew Forum/Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=15522

President Bush marked the National Day of Prayer at the White House on Thursday (May 1), noting Americans' equality across their diverse faiths even as critics charged that the widespread prayer observances have been "hijacked" by evangelicals.

"On this day, we celebrate our freedoms, particularly the freedom to pray in public...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: News Blaze

http://newsblaze.com/story/20080501190217tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

The National Association of Interchurch and Interfaith Families has named acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader Rajan Zed as one of its spiritual advisors.

The purpose of this Association is to educate couples and families who are in "mixed" relationships, enabling all to grow in...