Source: The Times-Picayune

On February 15, 2003 The Times-Picayune reported that "for the world's 30,000 Swedenborgians who wish more people were familiar with their beliefs, the Swedenborg Chapel's presence at Harvard University often has seemed a blessing... That coveted spot within a stone's throw of Harvard Square, however, comes with the curse of skyrocketing real estate prices. Now, the cash-strapped House of Studies is selling its neogothic stone temple, and unless the congregation comes up with $2 million by March 30, the flagship site of...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On February 14, 2003 The Houston Chronicle reported that "members of a north Houston family that practices Santeria rituals said they were praying for a relative in a coma when authorities barged into their home, seizing 12 goats, 11 chickens and two pigeons about to be sacrificed... No charges were immediately filed against the five participants in the religious ritual in the 300 block of Coach near Imperial Valley, but the Houston SPCA seized all of the animals in the family's back yard Wednesday... The five residents,...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On February 14, 2003 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "Scott McWilliams didn't believe that God had chosen one woman for him -- until he met and married the woman of his dreams through Equally Yoked, a club for Christian singles... Susan Jacobs, 26, an Orthodox Jew from Squirrel Hill, met her boyfriend at a conference on modern Orthodoxy... Before then, Jacobs had tried matchmakers, singles events, and even two Jewish Internet dating services... for Orthodox Jews... The Internet, where the greatest growth in faith-...

Source: Herald Tribune

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On February 12, 2003 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "once a month the ancient language is heard by a slice of metro Atlanta's Armenian community, which meets at the Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church in Roswell. The congregation is a mission parish of the Armenian Church of America, one of a handful in the South. The Armenian Church is an ancient branch of Christianity with distinctive traditions... Armenians have been in metro Atlanta for decades, often finding each other by searching...

Source: Daily News

On February 11, 2003 the Daily News reported that "community and religious leaders in Brooklyn are praying for peace - but bracing for war... Hoping to prevent a possible backlash that a war in Iraq might incite against certain ethnic communities in the borough, city officials and activists gathered yesterday for a forum dubbed 'We Are All Brooklyn...' Leaders from Brooklyn's Jewish, Muslim, South Asian and African-American communities were joined by staffers from Mayor Bloomberg's office and the NYPD. The event was organized by the...

Source: Omaha World-Herald

On February 11, 2003 the Omaha World-Herald reported that "whether the sweat lodge in the Brookhaven neighborhood in southwest Omaha is a religious practice protected under the U.S.  Constitution or a threat to public health and safety will be determined in the next 30 days. Monday, the City of Omaha said Rose could continue using her sweat lodge while it sorts out legal issues in the conflict... 'This is my way of life,' said Rose, a spiritual leader in the Northern Ponca Tribe. 'A lot of people rely on this...' Boyd Bell,...

Source: The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/regional/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1044709371247310.xml

On February 9, 2003 The Oregonian reported that "during his seven years as a Medford [OR] resident, motel owner Nick Patel has always bragged to friends that he could leave his doors unlocked... But following a half dozen recent hate crimes, including a brash attack last week on a motel clerk from India who was mistaken for an...

Source: NBC 4 News

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/1966329/detail.html

On February 9, 2003 NBC 4 News reported that "the Los Angeles Police Department's terrorism hotline is up, running and busy, a police sergeant said Sunday... In addition, the center received several hundred calls during its first day of operation Saturday, and all the calls were 'positive,' meaning there were no prank phone calls... John Miller, who is head of the LAPD's Homeland Security Bureau... cautioned against...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45357-2003Feb8.html

On February 9, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "schools that don't allow students to pray outside the classroom or teachers to hold religious meetings among themselves could face the loss of federal money, the Education Department said Friday... The guidelines reflect the Bush administration's push to ensure that schools give teachers and students as much...

Source: The Leader-Herald

http://www.leaderherald.com/news/story/029202003_new01_wiccans0209.asp

On February 9, 2003 The Leader-Herald reported that "locally, Wiccan worshippers aren't making their religious practices known because of their fear of persecution, they say. Some are open about it, but the majority of them practice in solitude... Jessica Henry, a Johnstown [NY] resident and Fulton-Montgomery Community College [NY] student, said she began...

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 8, 2003 The Boston Globe printed an editorial that stated, "the latest FBI order comes on the heels of revelations that the bureau has been secretly enlisting campus police officers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and elsewhere to 'keep tabs' on faculty, staff, and students studying in Massachusetts and around the United States... Some Justice Department officials have dubbed these tactics 'community outreach' - a chance for the FBI to alert Iraqis to civil rights matters and to assist them if they...

Source: The Olympian

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20030208/living/24239.shtml

On February 8, 2003 The Olympian reported that "Jody Rush was raised a Christian. His wife, Hilari Hauptmann, grew up in a Conservative Jewish household. Their son, Gabe, attends Hebrew school at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, where Hauptmann recently became a member... As a family, they also belong to the Community for Interfaith Celebration (CIC), a small spiritual community in...

Source: The New York Times

On February 8, 2003 The New York Times reported that "last fall, officials with Aspen Elementary School, a public school with about 500 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, and the Aspen Country Day School, a private school with about 180 students in kindergarten through ninth grade, invited yoga instructors to conduct classes as part of a pilot program... But some parents and religious leaders here are objecting, saying that teaching yoga in school violates the separation of church and state... Opposition was...

Source: Star-Telegram

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/5128251.htm

On February 7, 2003 the Star-Telegram reported that "employment discrimination complaints climbed more than 4 percent last year to 84,442 filings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported Thursday... The biggest increases for the 2002 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, came from allegations of religious discrimination. They were up 21 percent from 2001, to almost 2,600 complaints... 'While...