On January 24, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "the Bush administration wants to give religious organizations access to federal housing money that could be used to erect or refurbish buildings where religious activities are held, so long as the groups also provide social services in those buildings... Critics say the proposal, part of an array of 'faith-based'...
On January 24, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "a state scholarship program decided to give funds to a college student who is majoring in religious studies, reversing a stance against financial aid for such programs...The decision followed a federal lawsuit filed in December by the American Center for Law and Justice on behalf of Michael Woods Nash. The center, founded by televangelist Pat...
On January 23, 2003 Tolerance.org reported that "the latest edition of Maxim magazine, in an alleged 'humor' article headlined 'Maxim’s Kick-Ass Workout,' depicts a strapping man in a 'Muscle' T-shirt beating up an image of Mahatma Gandhi... 'My first reaction is, ‘How stupid.’ My next reaction is, ‘How sad,' said Michelle Naef, administrator of the M.K. Gandhi...
On January 23, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "parents asked school officials at a School Committee meeting last week to do
more to accommodate students who want to observe the Jewish High Holy Days - if
making those days holidays is not practical, parents said... The Regional School Committee of Berlin and Boylston postponed until Feb. 5 a
decision on whether to close for the holy days so committee members could get
more information about the district's demographics and policies in neighboring
communities... Committee...
On January 23, 2003 The Christian Science Monitor reported that "churches, mosques, and synagogues look for ways to make their buildings more energy efficient, both to heed ethical imperatives against waste, and also to save money... Churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples get help for stewardship efforts in EPA's Energy Star program, which identifies equipment, appliances, and...
On January 23, 2003 The Indianapolis Star "asked David Suzuki... [whose] parents were imprisoned for about three years while the United States and the Allied forces were at war with Japan... to compare the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II to the treatment of Arab-Americans and Muslims since the start of the war on terrorism and in anticipation of...
On January 23, 2003 the Detroit Free Press reported that the "war with Iraq is exposing long-simmering tensions in metro Detroit's interfaith community, and they are likely to spill into the public sphere at the annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation on Saturday in Bloomfield Hills... The annual observance, which has been promoted...
On January 22, 2003 The Wall Street Journal printed an editorial by Patrick Korten that stated, "at the urging of groups like the National League of Cities, the American Planning Association, and the International Municipal Lawyers Association, many local zoning ordinances have morphed into instruments for sharply restricting, or even excluding altogether, new churches, synagogues...
On January 20, 2003 the Religion Writers reported that "last weekend's antiwar rallies in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco showed that efforts to avert war in Iraq, quietly spearheaded by religious groups months ago, are accelerating. The movement has expanded beyond the traditional 'peace churches' to include members and leaders of most denominations and faiths....
On January 19, 2003 The New York Times reported that "as an assistant professor in the Religion Department at Wesleyan
University, the wife of a Haitian man, the mother of an adopted Haitian
daughter
and a follower of the [voodoo] religion herself, Ms. McAlister has to find a balance
between the personal, the professional and the academic... Voodoo is a religion developed by Africans forced to leave their homes behind
and work as slaves on Haiti's sugar plantations. A broad religion with millions
of faithful and countless...
On January 17, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "worker complaints of religious discrimination made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jumped more than 20 percent last year, driven primarily by claims of retaliation against Muslims... But in a much more gradual trend, complaints... involving a broad range of religions... have slowly mounted up 85 percent over the past decade. Such cases make up a very...
On January 17, 2003 The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "anti-Semitism is widespread among America's young adults, with a fourth believing Jews control the media and Wall Street, according to a survey released this week by a Jewish research group... Another key finding is that 37 percent of American adults, or 65 million people, continue to believe Jews were responsible for killing Jesus... The Institute for Jewish and Community...
On January 16, 2003 The Interfaith Alliance reported that "on the heels of remarks made this past weekend by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, urging Congress to determine religious freedom through legislation, The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) today brought together members of the progressive community to call upon legislators to defend religious liberty in the 108th Congress... 'Today, on...
On January 15, 2003 the East Bay Express reported that "the mission statement of the Interfaith Pagan Pride Parade defines 'pagans' as: 'Those who follow indigenous, tribal, polytheistic, Nature-based, and
Earth-based beliefs.' For anyone who enjoys world music and other
international
folk arts -- especially from the undeveloped world -- and the
spirituality that
comes from nature, the 'interfaith pagan' belief system might not
be that much
of a leap, says Berkeley's Micha Dunston... There are
many other pagan orgs around...
On January 14, 2003 Tolerance.org reported that "still reeling from last month’s deadline for the first round of INS special registration, immigration lawyers and activists across the country braced themselves for a second one last Friday... But Friday’s deadline stood in stark contrast to that of Dec. 16, which resulted in the detainment of more than 500 Iranian-born men and boys...