Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On August 5, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on the First Church of Cyberspace and its pastor, the Rev. Charles Henderson. The four-year-old congregation includes members of a variety of religions, including Christian, Jew, Pagan, and atheist. "It's tremendously diverse," said ordained Presbyterian pastor Henderson from the church's office in New York. "It has pagans, Wiccans, liberals, gays, straight --- that's what makes it so exciting." Henderson's church is part of a growing trend in...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On August 3, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on the friendship that has grown between Indian immigrant Kesturkoppal Muralidhara and his Mormon neighbor Nancy Beaman. His wife, Vadewattee Muralidhara, was "gunned down with eight others a year ago by day trader Mark Barton." It was too much for his 19-year-old son and he to return to their home, so the two moved. Since then, the grief-stricken Muralidhara has had a hard time making new friends, eating his meals, and practicing medicine at his...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On August 1, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported that "Two billboards that declare Santa Fe to be "no place for hate" will greet people driving down this town's main drag beginning August 10. Community leaders hope the signs will help dispel the perception that residents of this small Galveston County town may be less than tolerant toward people unlike themselves." After recent allegations involving anti-Semitism and other acts of discrimination, "the school district has accepted the Anti-Defamation League's offer to present...

Source: The Courier-Journal

On August 1, 2000, The Courier Journal reported that "In a written order that follows his ruling last week from the bench, U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood has struck down as unconstitutional a state resolution calling for a monument to the Ten Commandments on the Capitol grounds." In his order, Hood found "the resolution failed all three constitutional tests it needed to pass." These tests were that it had a "secular purpose, that its primary effect was secular and that it did not 'foster' a government entanglement with...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On August 1, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that there has been an increase in the amount of new fiction being published that is focused on religion. In the article "Literary World is Making More Room for Religion; With Cultural Diversity an Ever-Growing Presence, Writers (and Readers) are Embracing Themes of Spirituality," Janet Silver, editor in chief for Houghton Mifflin in Boston commented that, "The industry is opened to groups not represented in the past. You find writers from cultures that define themselves by...

Source: The Washington Post

On July 30, 2000, The Washington Post reported that a "federal judge issued a temporary injunction Friday barring Indiana from erecting a Ten Commandments monument on the Statehouse lawn." The state has not decided if it will appeal, said a spokeswoman for the governor. She added that "We believe that because this monument was to be displayed in a historical context it would be constitutional." Indiana Civil Liberties Lawyer Ken Falk commented that "The judge indicated that...the monument lacks a secular purpose and it has the...

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 30, 2000, The Boston Globe published an article entitled "A City's Changing Face Aided by Program to House Refugees; Immigrants Bring Ethnic Diversity, New Challenges, to Portland, Maine." Albert T. Chamblerain, property manager at the low-income housing development Riverton Park, explained that while "Once a thoroughly white city in the country's second whitest state, Portland is on its way to becoming a miniature 'United Nations.'" While Census data has yet to be released, it is clear that Portland has changed...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 28, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "More than a quarter of all hate crimes in the state last year occurred in Los Angeles, nearly three times as many as in the next-highest city, according to a report released Thursday by the state attorney general's office. The state's 1,962 hate crimes, occurring at a rate of more than five a day last year, represent an increase of 12% over the previous year. The total is the second highest since California began keeping track in 1994, the report stated."

"Last year...

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 28, 2000, The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article entitled "Bill Targets Zoning that Bans Churches."

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On July 27, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the city has become home to some of the strongest, largest churches in America. The suburbs, home to some even older churches, have their own healthy congregations." Some examples include:

"Peachtree Presbyterian Church on Roswell Road is the largest mainline Presbyterian church in the country...Mount Paran Church of God for years has led its denomination in members and its pastor emeritus, the Rev. Paul Walker, is the general...

Source: Star Tribune

On July 26, 2000, the Star Tribune published an article entitled "Finding a Role for Faith in Medicine; Both Doctors and Counselors Observe That a Patient's Religious Beliefs May be Helpful, But They Caution Against Making Faith a Formal Part of Treatment." In a recent study, "Seventy-five devout Christians were asked to take part in an unusual experiment: Researchers had them pray for 466 strangers, each of whom had been hospitalized with serious heart problems." When those who were prayed for were compared to a control group that...

Source: The Denver Post

On July 25, 2000, The Denver Post published an article about the recent House of Representatives vote which urged the "display of the national motto - 'In God We Trust' - in public buildings. The House action came on a voice vote on a resolution introduced by Rep. Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, who acknowledged his measure was inspired by the 5-to-1 vote of the [Colorado] state school board on July 6." Schaffer commented that "This is our national motto, not a prayer, This is the motto right before us. This is not a controversial...

Source: The Courier-Journal

On July 24, 2000, The Courier Journal of Louisville, KY published an article about a collaboration between Buddhist and Catholic monks. The project is a result of the work of Louisville musician Michael Fitzpatrick, who was "so deeply moved by a 1996 gathering of Catholic and Buddhist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani that he wanted to capture some of that feeling in music. The result is the CD "Compassion," released last month, which blends Tibetan and Western monastic chants, classic pieces of Western religious music and...

Source: The Denver Post

On July 24, 2000, The Denver Rocky Mountain News published an article about Denver International Airport's Interfaith Chapel. "Sponsored by Christian, Muslim and Jewish organizations, the chapel, simply dressed in cool shades of blue and white, is meant to be a spiritual decompression chamber for all." An adjoining room has been angled to face Mecca, allowing Muslims to fulfill their daily prayer requirements while traveling. The Interfaith Chapel also holds Catholic Mass on Sundays in addition to "noon communion services several...

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 23, 2000, The Boston Globe published an article about a debate in Lexington, Massachusetts, regarding the placement of a nativity scene on Lexington's Battle Green, a public place. Many gathered on the Green to ask the question aloud: "Should selectmen ban the nativity scene from the Green, its home for more than half a century?" The issue has "cast a cloud over the town common for more than a decade," and it remains controversial for the residents. One resident explained why he, like others, hoped the creche would be...