Interfaith

Native American Objects to Washington Redskins' Name

March 1, 2001

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.

Supreme Court Hearing on Christian Group Gathering After School

March 1, 2001

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.

Supreme Court Case Could Support Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

March 1, 2001

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...

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Survey Examines Religious Underpinnings of Voting Patterns in the 2000 Presidential Election

March 1, 2001

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...

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Olympics Place Spotlight on Tensions between Mormons and Non-Mormons in Salt Lake City

February 28, 2001

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...

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Many Speak in Favor of School Prayer at School Board Meeting

February 28, 2001

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...

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Mixed Reactions to Funding of Faith-Based Organizations

February 28, 2001

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...

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Kansas City Interfaith Council Passes Resolution on Public Prayer

February 28, 2001

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...

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American Jewish Committee Announces Interfaith Document on Faith-Based Initiatives

February 28, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 28, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Jewish groups are expressing strong reservations about President Bush's plan to give ministries more access to federal funds for social services, and they are warning the White House that their support depends on its fortifying the wall between church and state... Yesterday, a broad-based group of religious and civic organizations issued "In Good Faith," a report that endorsed expanding government support for social ministries as long as none of the federal funds went to...

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American Jewish Committee Announces Interfaith Document on Faith-Based Initiatives

February 27, 2001

Source: press release

http://www.ajc.org/press/default.htm?show.asp?ID=182

On February 27, 2001, the American Jewish Committee issued a press release saying that "a two-year initiative aimed at finding common ground among diverse religious and public interest groups on government funding of social services provided by religious organizations issued today its landmark report, “In Good Faith: A Dialogue on Government Funding of Faith-Based Social Services...More than 17...

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Mixed Reactions to Funding of Faith-Based Organizations

February 26, 2001

Source: Dayton Daily News

On February 26, 2001, the Dayton Daily News reported on the concerns of members of the religious community and others "about how [Bush's new faith-based initiative] would work. They fear a blurring of the First Amendment-sanctioned line between religion and state. They wonder about the possibility of religious groups' misusing tax dollars to woo converts, religious institutions losing autonomy, and the government slighting less mainstream religions." Another concern is that Bush may be "attempting to 'push the burden on the...

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Op-Ed Articles Respond to Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

February 26, 2001

Source: The New Republic

On February 26, 2001, The New Republic published a piece by Jeffrey Rosen, in which he supported charitable choice legislation. He defends religious organizations' right "to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring and firing staff [and] the right to define their organizational mission," as long as they do not discriminate against beneficiaries. He also defends religious organizations' right to discriminate on the basis of sex and sexual orientation when hiring and firing, as long as churches "own up to the beliefs and...

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Op-Ed Articles Respond to Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

February 26, 2001

Source: The New Republic

On February 26, 2001, The New Republic published a piece by Benjamin Soskis on Bush's new faith-based initiative. He says that social scientists have done no empirical research yet that supports the claim that "faith-based programs work best...The unquestioning faith in faith's instrumentality is also compromised by the fact that studies [that support the claim of religious programs' superiority] define religion institutionally...and thus fail to differentiate between religion's social and doctrinal components...Given that much of...

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U.S. Responds to Earthquake in India

February 26, 2001

Source: Omaha World-Herald

On February 26, 2001, the Omaha World-Herald reported that "three speakers - each representing a different faith - gathered Sunday afternoon at Omaha's Hindu Temple to offer insight on how to grapple with the deep and troubling questions raised by the" recent earthquake in Gujarat. "More than 60 members of the Hindu Temple spent all or part of the weekend fasting...$13,000 has been raised to help rebuild Gujarat."

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