Source: The Houston Chronicle

On March 3, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "Houston religious leaders from faiths as diverse as the Unification Church, The Nation of Islam and the Church of God in Christ banded together Friday to support President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and to make sure they get a piece of the action...By banding together... they hoped to ensure they were not discriminated against when seeking federal grants."

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/News/030201/Citrus/Sheriff_repudiates_pa.shtml

On March 2, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Inverness resident Charles Schrader "says he was harassed by deputies" after he spoke at a meeting of the School Board. Schrader "is the pagan who has previously interrupted School Board opening prayer with a Wiccan incantation and who has sharply criticized" the board chairwoman on religion...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 2, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "misgivings [about Bush's new faith-based initiative] are coming from many religious leaders, including a number of conservatives who otherwise favor Bush policies...Some...have been burned by government regulations that imposed changes they did not like. Some members of religious minorities fear...that they will be overlooked. And there are some who warn that the grants lead to spiritual compromises; they say religion gets lost in the bargain." Pat Robertson, head of the...

Source: The Associated Press

On March 2, 2001, the Associated Press reported that "President Bush's pointman [John DiIulio] for directing more federal money to religious charities says the effort probably will wind up in court, even as he tries to convince Americans that concerns over mixing church and state are overstated...He is convinced that the courts will line up on his side." His main argument is that concerns raised by the new faith-based initiative apply only to extreme cases. While he works out the details of how the plan will be implemented, "he's...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 2, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Senator Joseph I. Lieberman...said yesterday that he would not rule out Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam from receiving federal funds through President Bush's new faith-based initiative. 'If the Nation of Islam established a separate corporation (for delivering social services), there is not a basis to deny them, presuming they are living within the civil rights laws,' Lieberman said." This position shocked many leaders who see the Nation as "a racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, anti-...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On March 2, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on artist and musician Karma Moffett, who delights Bay Area audiences with his "Tibetan Bell Experience -- A Symbolic Journey to Tibet,"...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On March 1, 2001, The Baltimore Sun reported on Richard Regan, a member of the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs, is "calling for the Washington Redskins to change the team's name and logo. 'To American Indians, it is almost what the 'n-word' is to African-Americans,' Regan said." Many, including Native Americans, disagree that the name is offensive. Redskins executives do not seem inclined to change the name.

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Fewer-In-S-F-Attend-Church-Survey-says-South-2946966.php

On March 1, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 1, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that the US Supreme Court is hearing a case on "whether a public school may bar a Christian children's group from gathering after class when it allows other outside groups to meet on its premises." The justices inquired as to whether there had been favoritism to other groups, why religious groups could not use the building when it was open for public use, and what the principle of neutrality toward religion would mean in this situation. A decision is expected at the end of June.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 1, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court took up the question Wednesday of whether an evangelical Christian group has a constitutional right to meet for prayer and Bible study in a public elementary school at the end of the day...Most of the justices sided with the Christian group and against school officials during the oral argument." A ruling in favor of the Good News Club, an evangelical Christian group with 4,622 chapters nationwide, "could give an important boost to President Bush's 'faith-based...

Source: The Public Perspective

The March/April 2001 issue of The Public Perspective published an article reporting on the results of "a just completed national survey, conducted at the University of Akron as part of a larger project of the Ethics and Public Policy Center," that investigated the voting patterns of the faithful in the 2000 presidential election. The survey found that about three-fourths of those who voted for Bush were "observant white Christians, led by evangelical Protestants, and...less observant white Protestants." Three-fourths of those...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On February 28, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported that the winter Olympic Games of 2002 in Salt Lake City is throwing the spotlight on the city and on the divisions in "the city population now evenly split between Mormon adherents and non-Mormons...The battles include what critics say are antiquated liquor laws, charges of discrimination, and complaints that the church stifles basic freedoms." One Mormon said the Mormons "'want the Olympics to correct misunderstandings about the church. Others want Salt Lake...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/News/022801/Citrus/_Davids__deliver_stan.shtml

On February 28, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported on "the Citrus County [Florida] School Board...hearing the public's opinion on two issues: opening board meetings with a prayer and allowing a Christian youth group to meet at a middle school during school hours... Both issues were raised by board member Carol Snyder." She said that opening meetings...

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 28, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Jewish groups are expressing strong reservations about President Bush's" new faith-based initiative. Their biggest concern is that the government will compromise the separation between church and state by funding social services with religious content. "Many Jews already feel like outsiders in a pluralistic-faith society, and they don't want Bush's initiative to encourage Southern Baptists, for example, in their stated mission to convert Jews to Christianity...Other concerns with...

Source: The Kansas City Star

On February 28, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported that, in response to the prayers invoking the name of Jesus Christ and President Bush's inauguration, "the Kansas City Interfaith Council adopted a resolution last month suggesting that 'those who offer prayers on civic occasions in which all citizens are entitled to participate be mindful and respectful of the religious diversity within our nation and prepare their utterances so as to recognize our heritage of religious freedom.'" The article reported that "public prayer is...