Source: The Associated Press

On September 22, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "Minnesota's religious landscape became more diverse in the 1990s, although the state remains mostly Lutheran and Catholic, according to a survey of U.S. religious institutions. From 1990 to 2000, the state has seen double digit percentage increases for Jews and the Latter-day Saints. Muslims were also counted in significant numbers for the first time. The research also found that Minnesota has more evangelical Christians and fewer mainline Protestants... Minnesota is...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On September 18, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "a Cambodian prince who has done intelligence work for that country's king said yesterday that [Rev. Lim Buntheoun],... abbot of a Buddhist temple in central Ohio, is the long-missing Prince Norodom Naradipo, potential heir to the throne. The declaration by Sisowath, 65, appeared to put him at odds with King Sihanouk, who is being treated in Beijing for prostate cancer and diabetes. 'Do I believe that Prince Naradipo is alive?' asked Prince Sisowath Suriyavong, after...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 13, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the White House expects the Senate to vote soon for a long-delayed bill to make it easier for faith-based groups to seek federal support for programs to help the needy. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said the Senate would vote on the bill during the end-of-session rush if the two senators could obtain unanimous consent from their colleagues for strict limits on debate time and the number of amendments."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On June 13, 2002 The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the a local group of the Self-Realization Fellowship "will soon be moving from its cramped, rented quarters in a commercial office building on Valley Parkway to a seven-building complex in southwest Escondido, [California]... The city Planning Commission voted... to approve plans and a conditional-use permit for the group to turn a former residential care facility... into a meeting and mediation center."

Source: The New York Times

On June 7, 2002, The New York Times reported that a Pennsylvania "judge fined 20 members of an Amish sect today for refusing to put bright orange reflective triangles on their horse-drawn buggies, ruling that public safety overrode any religious objections... The Swartzentruber Amish argued that the garish symbols violated their beliefs. The members were ordered to pay 27 fines of $95 each for failing to use the triangle, a symbol that alerts other travelers to a slow-moving vehicle... Instead of the triangles, the...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On May 23, 2002 The Christian Science Monitor reported that "the ultratraditional Swartzentruber sect of Amish living in western Pennsylvania refuse to use... the simple orange triangle, which state law requires on the backs of all slow-moving vehicles... on their horse-drawn buggies... The police have ticketed them, but they've resisted paying the fines... Matters came to a head when 19 Amish, responsible for a total of 24 tickets... appeared in Cambria County [PA] Court last month, defended by lawyers who were secured...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On May 7, 2002, The Plain Dealer featured an article on "a College Board statistical finding that ranked the SAT scores of college-bound seniors by their religion. Unitarians finished first, averaging 1,209 on the college-entrance exam. Jews averaged 1,161 followed by Quakers at 1,153 and Hindus at 1,110. The average SAT score for college-bound seniors is 1,020."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On March 27, 2002, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "authorities are investigating whether to charge a City Heights [CA] shop owner with animal cruelty for keeping 48 animals... some meant for religious sacrifice, in cardboard boxes and bags without food or water... Meanwhile, the city's code compliance department decided yesterday not to fine the owner of Botanica Chango, which sells religious paraphernalia, for keeping animals on property not zoned for them... Julian Villota, the owner of the shop......

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On February 7, 2002, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured an article on "Voodoo -- or Vodou as scholars and practitioners prefer... 'Vodou may be the most misunderstood and maligned religion in the world,' said Terry Rey, an assistant professor of religion studies at Florida International University in Miami. 'Its similarities and ties with Christianity and, especially, Catholicism are abundant'... Rey says is practiced by roughly 250,000 people in the United States and 80 million worldwide... Vodou originated in central...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On February 2, 2002, The Hartford Courant reported that "after years of worshiping in rented space while enduring failed attempts to establish a place of their own, [central Connecticut] Muslims have what they have been searching for... The mosque is in a former bowling alley turned office building... The congregation does not yet have an imam, a Muslim religious leader, and plans for a library and kitchen will have to wait until funding improves. But just having a site for the 44 member families devoted to the Shiite branch of...

Source: Portsmouth Herald

http://www.seacoastonline.com/2002news/1_31living_a.htm

On January 31, 2002 the Portsmouth Herald published an article in which members of the Eckankar religion explained their beliefs and practices. "Eckankar, called the religion of the Light and Sound of God, was introduced as a modern-day religion in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, the first Living ECK Master, responsible for the continued evolution of the Eckankar teachings. Eckankar offers...

Source: The Buffalo News

On January 17, 2002, The Buffalo News reported that "a man who claimed he was denied a bus driver's job because of his long dreadlocks has won a $33,500 settlement from Greyhound Lines... The company agreed to pay Kevan Sheppard of Rochester [NY] in order to end an employment discrimination lawsuit filed on his behalf in 2000 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Buffalo... Sheppard, who practices the Rastafarian religion, claimed Greyhound's Buffalo management turned him down for the bus driver's job because his...

Source: Newsweek

On September 10, 2001, Newsweek reported that Christopher Polk was fired from his FedEx job for refusing to cut his dreadlocks. There is a "Rastafarian belief in the sanctity of dreadlocks - the cords of permanently interlocked strands first worn by African cheifs perhaps 6,000 years ago." Polk, a practicing Rastafarian, explains that "'your hair is your covenant...once you grow your locks, it puts you on a path'...Six other New York-area FedEx employees have lost their jobs because of dreadlocks. They have sued, alleging religious...

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 25, 2001 The Boston Globe reported that Tom Green of Utah, "a man with five wives and 30 children, was sentenced...to five years in prison...Polygamy is an open secret in Utah and elsewhere in the West, where there are an estimated 30,000 people practicing plural marriage." Green took the stand and "made it clear he has no regrets." He was sentenced "to five years on each charge he faced - four bigamy charges and one for failing to support his family. The sentences will run concurrently...He is still awaiting trial on...

Source: Queens Chronicle-Central Edition