Interfaith

Rabbi Leads Politicians, Movie Stars in Campaign to Reduce Gossip

September 4, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.wordscanheal.com

On Tuesday September 4, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "a group headed by an Orthodox rabbi and backed by an array of US politicians and movie stars is launching a media campaign today to reduce gossip in everyday life...The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children skip school each day because of intimidation by their peers." The group led by Rabbi Chiam Feld is called "Words Can Heal (http//:www.wordscanheal.com...

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DiIulio's Departure Bodes Ill for Faith-Based Initiative

August 21, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 21, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "the departure of John DiIulio [from the White House]...puts prospects for passage of President Bush's faith-based initiative in new peril...DiIulio, a Democrat, an academic, a onetime adviser to Al Gore, and director of Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, had been expected to broker a bill with his friend, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman...that could garner enough Democratic support to pass the Senate. But the larger issue...may be whether religious...

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Existence of Islamophobia Denied; Muslims Object

August 21, 2001

Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations

On August 21, 2001, the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported that "a prominent national Islamic advocacy group today called on Jewish groups to repudiate materials distributed at a Washington, D.C., news conference by B'nai B'rith International that claimed Islamophobia, the irrational hatred of Muslims and Islam, is an 'invention' that can never exist. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today's incident is but one of many attempts by pro-Israel extremists to vilify and demonize...

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Hindu Group Tries to Build Ties with Native Americans

August 20, 2001

Source: The Newspaper Today

http://www.thenewspapertoday.com/india/inside.phtml?NEWS_ID=24926

On August 20, 2001, The Newspaper Today reported that "the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is making serious efforts to forge close links with native American Indian groups, saying the two have 'many things in common,'" Sangh spokesman M.G. Vaidya said. "Both inherit the glory and wisdom of ancient traditions and respect mother earth and we all should work together to...

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A New Religious America

August 20, 2001

Source: No source given.

Diana Eck has been bringing the work of the Pluralism Project to a national audience this summer.  Some of the publications and sites that have articles about the book  or interviews with Diana include:

"One Nation under. . .which God"
Interview with Diana L. Eck in U.S. Catholic, September 2001 issue.
http://www.uscatholic.org/

India Abroad, August 18, 2001
"Faith Without Fences"
Arthur J. Pais
http://indiabroad.rediff...

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Hinduism Poorly Understood in America, Survey Shows

August 18, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10378-2001Aug14.html

On August 18, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "in a new survey of Americans' attitudes about Hindus, 666  people – two-thirds of those surveyed – said they have no familiarity with Hindu beliefs and practices...Members of the Hindu Leaders Forum...commissioned the survey...The Embassy of India estimates that 90 percent of [America's] 1.5...

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White House Report Finds Antireligious Bias in Federal Bureaucracy

August 17, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 17, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "despite attempts by Congress to encourage their participation, faith-based social service groups that seek federal funding are dissuaded by the 'antireligious bias' of too many government officials, a White House report asserted yesterday...The White House report...catalogued the steps that religious organizations have been forced to take in order to qualify for federal funds...Changing the antireligious culture of the federal bureaucracy will be a formidable task, [John]...

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Inter-Religious Panel at Harvard Explores Conversion

August 14, 2001

Source: International Society for Krishna Consciousness

http ://w ww.iskcon.net/boston

 

On August 14, 2001, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness reported that "the Boston Theological Institute's Dialog Program convened a panel on religious conversion at the Harvard Divinity School. Christopher Queen...of the Harvard Extension School...discussed his journey from Methodism to Buddhism...Premananda dasa spoke of his journey from Christianity to atheism to Vaishnavism...The organizers were so...

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Hog Farming Source of Rift Between Mennonites and their Neighbors

August 12, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On August 12, 2001, The New York Times reported on the on Finger Lakes region of New York. "Best known for its...bucolic beauty, [it] has become the hog farming capital of New York. But with that distinction has come controversy...casting an awkward spotlight on the people most associated with the animals, Mennonite farmers." Many of their neighbors are complaining that the stench produced by the pigs "has adversely affected the quality of life, the environment, the wine business and the tourism industry...Like their...

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Documentary Explores Links Between Judaism and Christianity

August 11, 2001

Source: The Dallas Morning News

On August 11, 2001, The Dallas Morning News reported that a new documentary linking the traditions of Jews and Christians, Jews and Christians: A Journey of Faith, "is set to debut on public television in at least 70 markets this fall...An executive at Connecticut Public Television "believes that this film 'fills a vacuum' as the first even-handed documentary to address the shared heritage and differences without either side 'scoring points.'...Dr. Wilson, a professor of Old Testament and Jewish Studies at...

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Bush's Piety Excludes Agnostics

August 9, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On August 9, 2001, The Washington Post published an editorial about Bush leading his cabinet in prayer before a meeting. "Bush is different only in degree, not in kind" in terms of presidential piety. "It makes me scratch my head whenever anyone mentions how religion has been banished from American life. This lament, so intrinsic if not essential to the conservative moment,...has attained the status of a Big Lie -- an untruth repeated so often that it goes unchallenged...America -- alone among the major Western democracies --...

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Muslim Group Withdraws Endorsement of New York Mayoral Candidate

August 9, 2001

Source: Daily News

On August 9, 2001, New York's Daily News reported that "Mark Green and Alan Hevesi shifted into damage-control mode...after a videotape surfaced...The tape shows a leader of the Muslim Political Coordinating Committee saying Green told them Israel had 'made mistakes' and had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...Two weeks ago, however, Green aides and committee leaders told the Daily News that Israel never came up in Green's meeting with the group...A Muslim leader seen on the tape, Ali Mirza, said yesterday that he spoke in...

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Religious and Ethnic Backgrounds Exploited in Investment Scams

August 8, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 8, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "fraud artists increasingly are preying on people based on their religious and ethnic backgrounds, members of the North American Securities Administration Association said at a press conference in Washington. The news came on the heels of prison sentences...for two former members of a Tampa church, who bilked fellow churchgoers of nearly $580 million on 'divinely inspired investments.'...'I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than in any other way,' said...NASAA...

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Cabinet at Prayer: Letters to the Editor

August 7, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On August 7, 2001, The New York Times published a letter to the editor that said, "I was very pleased to see the... front-page photograph of President Bush and members of his cabinet in prayer at the beginning of a meeting...This attitude shows the intelligence of people who know that the help of God is necessary for solving the most important problems of the world."

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