On November 1, 2005 UUWorld.org released a transcript of a sermon delivered by Harold Babcock, the minister of the First Religious Society of Newburyport. "Images have great importance in many religious traditions. To Hindus, darshan is a special way of seeing, translated as 'seeing the divine image.' Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard, writes: 'In the Hindu ritual tradition, darshan refers...
On October 2, 2005 The Morning News reported, "Joseph Bell [a New Orleans Parish resident and recent evacuee] believes God protected him through [Hurricane Katrina]... Bell,33, said he believes the destruction in New Orleans was mostly caused by man. He said man built the levees that failed to hold back the water from a city that had become inhabited by...
On September 27, 2005 U.S. Newswire issued a press release from Falun Gong practitioners in the U.S. that stated, "Sun Jiazheng, China's Minister of Culture, intends to attend the Festival of China at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the United States in October 2005.
We [Falun Gong practitioners] request the State Department to deny Chinese government official Sun Jiazheng...
On September 24, 2005 the Gazette Times reported, "In light of the destruction and loss monopolizing the news recently, the theme of Corvallis' fourth annual Interfaith Conference on Oct. 1 couldn't be more appropriate.
'Healing Ourselves and Our World — An Interfaith Sharing,' was the topic chosen months ago by the Interfaith Community of Corvallis...
On September 22, 2005 The Dallas Morning News ran an opinion piece by Deborah Mitchell, an agnostic and frequent contributor to Collin County Opinions. Mitchell argues that religion should be taught in the American...
On September 21, 2005 Religion News Service reported, "An upstart religion called Universism has named a new leader who hopes to spread the neo-Deist movement nationwide.
Todd Stricker, 25, has been named executive director of the nonprofit organization and said he hopes to launch a new branch in Chicago.
University of Alabama-Birmingham medical...
On September 19, 2005 The StarPhoenix reported, "A centennial display celebrating 100 years of religion in Saskatchewan will soon be making its way to cities across the province.
The 4-by-7-foot display, entitled 100 years of Faith in Saskatchewan, will be unveiled by the...
On August 2, 2005 the Taipei Times reported, "Authorities tore down a house-sized teapot, umbrella and boat that gained nationwide notoriety after a banned Malaysian religious sect built them in its commune, the sect's followers said yesterday.
The structures, built by the Sky Kingdom sect to represent interfaith harmony, were reduced to rubble by bulldozers sent...
On July 18, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "An atheist who convinced a federal appeals court three years ago that the words 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional returned to court Monday and made his case a second time.
Michael Newdow, a doctor and lawyer, is suing four...
On July 14, 2005 The Washington Times reported, "A month before the debuting of a new Iraqi constitution, the country's religious minorities are worried the document may leave out any meaningful provisions for religious freedom.
A panel representing three of those minorities called on the United States to ensure the constitution, to be revealed Aug. 15, benefits them as...
On July 7, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "A city board reversed direction on Thursday and rejected plans to add a creationist exhibit to the Tulsa Zoo.
Board members voted 3-1 against installing an exhibit on the origin of life from the Bible. The vote, made at...
On July 7, 2005 the Los Angeles Times reported, "The estimates of Santeria adherents in the United States range from 1 million to 5 million, most of them concentrated in heavily Latino cities such as Miami, New York and Los Angeles.
The religion is edging closer to the mainstream, showing up on...