Source: The Washington Post

On February 15, 2001, The Washington Post reported on the controversy over faith-specific prayers at the meetings of legislative bodies. "Maryland and Florida, for instance, both have rules that prayer should be non-sectarian." Some counties deal with the problem by rotating faiths in their choice of religious speakers at meetings; others have given up on prayer altogether. Other legislative bodies instruct the religious leaders who come to speak to keep their prayers nonsectarian. "But some say prayer in and of itself is...

Source: The Associated Press State...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 14, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on the second annual meeting between top West Coast Catholic and Muslim leaders. The meeting "was designed to promote better understanding between the faiths and forge partnerships to counter what they see as the evils in secularized society, including abortion and pornography." It is a chance for those attending to build friendships that will lead to "local interfaith cooperation and action," and to deepen their understanding of spiritual matters by engaging in dialogue with...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/News/021401/Citrus/Critic_blasts_school_.shtml

On February 14, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported on a debate over religious issues in a Florida school district. At a recent meeting of the School Board, a critic "blasted the board for its prayer and related issues" after Chairwoman Patience Nave opened the session with a prayer that ended with "'I pray in the name of Jesus my savior.'...The...

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On February 12, 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that in a recent speech about black history at a Chicago church, the Rev. Jesse Jackson "issued warnings about faith-based social service programs funded by the government...[He said the] 'church must not...compromise its independence.'"

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 11, 2001, the Los Angeles Times published a piece by Judith F. Daar, a professor of law at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, California, in which she criticized Bush's new faith-based proposal. Daar writes, "I am concerned that no longer will separation of church and state mean the government cannot fund religious organizations' missions to preach the tenets of their faith. Instead, separation could merely require that in so proselytizing, religious groups must also lend a helping hand to the downtrodden. To say that...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 11, 2001, the Los Angeles Times published an op-ed piece by Judith F. Daar, a professor of law at Whittier Law School in, Costa Mesa, California, in which she criticized Bush's new faith-based initiative. She sees a trend in the Bush administration of disregarding the First Amendment regarding the separation of church and state. "From the multiple utterances of God and Jesus in the inaugural ceremonies to removing funding for international family planning organizations, we have seen President Bush's own faith dictate...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On February 11, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "social-service leaders and the legal watchdogs who monitor them" are threatening to sue "faith-based groups that take the federal dollars President Bush is touting...Civil-liberties groups would be most likely to sue over allegations of religious coercion of social-service clients or over discriminatory hiring practices among those agencies that seek employees from their own faith." A leader from one of these groups predicts 20 to 30 lawsuits across the country, which...

Source: The New York Times

On February 10, 2001, The New York Times reported that "the day after President Bush established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, John J. DiIulio Jr., its first director, attended a public discussion of his new office at the National Press Club in Washington...The discussion (a full transcript is available at http://pewforum.org/events/0130/) revealed some of the fundamental differences in perspective dividing supporters and opponents of 'faith-based...

Source: The Washington Post

On February 10, 2001, The Washington Post published an article on the responses it received to a question it posed in January: "Should religious leaders and laypeople who pray in public use only universal terms such as 'Almighty God' and 'Lord'? Or should they offer their customary prayers?...Of the 194 readers who responded...104 said that only universal language should be used in prayers [at public occasions]. Sixty-eight people supported specific references to Jesus, Allah, Krishna or other deities, and 22 opposed public...

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 10, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "the Rev. Mark Scott of Dorchester[ Mass.] was appointed yesterday to coordinate community outreach in President Bush's new Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Scott, 38, is the director of the Ella J. Baker House, a faith-based home that provides educational and other services to troubled teenagers. Scott will be responsible for identifying social ministries and community groups around the country that could be candidates for federal funds to fight poverty...[He]...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 10, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that, among the Hmong community in the Twin Cities, some have embraced Christianity over the past 50 years, "but many have remained faithful to the traditional faith, shamanism...The Hmong are a farming people who live in mountainous ranges in Southeast Asia and southern China. Refugees began immigrating to the United States in the 1970s, after the Vietnam War ended...Today, about 11 percent of the estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Hmong in the Twin Cities are Christian, according to...

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

http://www.ohio.com/communities/akron/moreabout/2001/February/10/docs/000442.htm

On February 10, 2001, The Akron Beacon Journal published an article entitled, "Pagans are grateful for understanding." "Pagans praise the decision by the Akron Area Interfaith Council to move dinner rather than cut the pagan singing group from the program...Following objections from the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, the...

Source: The Boston Herald

On February 8, 2001, The Boston Herald reported that "the local Indian community plans to adopt families, villages and schools in the earthquake-ravaged Gujarat region and target donations and long-term support...The groups decided to pool their efforts in order to get the most for each dollar raised...The meeting of 22 Indian social organizations in Cambridge Sunday brought together Hindus, Moslems, Jains and Sikhs, and people from diverse Indian regions and ethnic groups." One local group, Hindu Swayansewak Sangh, has raised...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On February 5, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on the response of metro Atlanta's Indian faith communities to the earthquake in Gujarat. Many members of the the Bochasanwasi Swaminarayan Sanstha Hindu Temple in Clarkston, Georgia, "are channeling their energy toward BAPS Care International, a nonprofit relief organization that is providing food, shelter and medical aid to tens of thousands of the tragedy's survivors." A community prayer service at BAPS, drew more than 1,000 members of this...