Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On May 24, 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "Plans to open a mosque in Palos Heights have upset residents and prompted some City Council members to consider derailing the plan by condemning the property the mosque wants to purchase." The Al Salam Mosque Foundation wanted to buy "the Reformed Church of Palos Heights' building." Residents say they fear increased traffic and would like to use the building for a new recreation center. "But a less vocal group in the south suburb also has expressed fears about the people...

Source: The Detroit News

On May 20, 2000, The Detroit News published an article entitled, "Muslims Say It's OK to Keep Christian Quote as Ohio State Motto."

Source: The Seattle Times

On May 20, 2000, The Seattle Times published an article entitled, "Archbishop a Healer, Here and Abroad: Brunett Plays Key Role in World Drive toward Religious Reconciliation."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On May 16, 2000, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "Rabbi Arthur Nemitoff,...senior rabbi at Temple Israel on the Far East Side, joined Columbus Bishop James A. Griffin and the Rev. Jesse Wood, pastor of Love Zion Baptist Church, to announce the formation of an interfaith council to battle family violence." The group is calling for religious leaders to "give moral leadership in shaping the community's response to such abuse" and for religious communities to offer support to survivors of domestic violence, breaking the trend...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On May 10, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that imam Waheed Rana was awarded the Norman A. Stack award by the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis for his work building bridges between the Muslim and Jewish communities. Rana is a founder of the Islamic Center in St. Louis and serves as the imam at the Daar-ul-Islam Masjid in St. Louis. Rana, accepting the award, stated: "We need each other...We are all the children of Abraham."

Source: 7 Train

On May 8, 2000, 7 Train, an online media project, carried an article entitled "The Flushing Faithful: A Religious Tapestry" documenting the religious pluralism and the "spirit of religious freedom" in Flushing, NY.

Source: The Boston Globe

On May 5, 2000, The Boston Globe published an article on the late Cardinal John O'Connor's efforts to promote more positive relations between Catholics and Jews. Edward Koch, former Mayor of New York City and good friend of Cardinal O'Connor, stated: "I heard him say many times - in his homilies, in public statements, privately - that you could not be a good Catholic and be anti-Semitic...He would say, 'Jesus was a Jew. Mary was a Jew.' By that repetition, he was saying you have be pretty stupid to be anti-Semitic. I think that has...

Source: The Dallas Morning News

On May 4, 2000, The Dallas Morning News published an article entitled, "Spiritual Nourishment: Followers of Many Faiths are United by Belief in Blessings Before Meals."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On May 3, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the St. Louis area will gather around flagpoles at more than 50 city halls in the region to pray for the nation on Thursday, May 4th, which is National Prayer Day. The tradition was started in 1952, when president Harry Truman signed a declaration calling for such a day. In 1988, President Reagan signed a declaration officially designating the first Thursday in May to be National Prayer Day. Jay Teutenberg of Webster Groves, Missouri,...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On April 27, 2000, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "pinions were plentiful yesterday in the aftermath of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Ohio's 41-year-old state motto -- 'With God, all things are possible' -- is unconstitutional." Some wonder why the US national motto "In God We Trust" has been allowed while this motto is considered unconstitutional; others argue that the national motto is more vague than Ohio's and thus shows less of a bias toward Christianity specifically. Americans United for...

Source: The Boston Globe

On April 22, 2000, The Boston Globe published an article on Roger Housden's recently released book entitled, "Sacred America: The Emerging Spirit of the People." Housden, who is British, writes: "America is still one of the most religious countries in the world, with over 90 percent believing in a god of some kind, and this religiosity has always colored the nation's own view of itself...This is why Americans, even if they do not articulate it in so many words, and in spite of everything that points to the whole experiment going...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On April 22, 2000, The Arizona Republic reported that worshipers from Presbyterian, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha'i, and Catholic communities joined in a prayer service on Friday, April 21st for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Arizona, which suffered $1.5 million of damage in a fire on Monday, April 17th. Rev. Paul Eppinger of the Arizona Ecumenical Council stated: "We have different religious points of view, but we are one family in God...And like a family, we must support one another in times of trouble." The cause of the...

Source: The Kansas City Star

On April 19, 2000, The Kansas City Star published an article on Pilgrim Chapel, an interfaith chapel in Kansas City, MO that has no weekly congregation and serves as a place of worship and meditation for people of all religions. An English Gothic structure that was formerly a Lutheran church for the deaf, the chapel was bought by ordained ministers Roger and Liz Coleman in 1997 and opened as Pilgrim Chapel in 1998. Roger Coleman stated: "We have some people who just pop in during the week for a few minutes of quiet time before...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On April 17, 2000, the Los Angeles Times published an article on the difficulty of obtaining reliable statistics on America's religious demography. In 1976, the Census Bureau was barred by Congress from compelling people to reveal their religion. Private organizations have since carried the load, but the statistics have turned out to be disparate. Derek Lander, a staff member at the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, stated: "We made an attempt to see if anyone has good numbers, and basically what we are finding out is...

Source: The Boston Herald

On April 16, 2000, The Boston Herald published an article entitled, "Interfaith Households Face Challenge at Holidays: Finding Common Ground Can Ease Celebration of Passover, Easter."