Source: The Associated Press

http://www.harktheherald.com/article.php?sid=88751

On July 6, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "17 Fulbright scholars from countries such as Bangladesh and Brazil, Cameroon, the Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Slovakia and Spain, have come here to see U.S. religious diversity firsthand... They arrived in Utah on Saturday... It seems an odd place to study diversity, given the fact that this state has a dominant religious majority in...

Source: Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3968276.html

On July 5, 2003 the Star Tribune reported that "through the trees, a small patch of blue sky lit the sacred grounds, where two empty sweat lodges stood... A mixture of smells lingered in the air -- cedar, sage and sweet grass. The grounds were prepared for the sacred drum to beat and the singing to begin. The body had to be purified before the men entered the lodges and the doors closed... For a...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/6224430.htm

On July 3, 2003 The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "this weekend, from worlds apart, two remarkable religious books are going on display to the general public here... The Islamic Circle of North America has brought in an ornate Koran from Iran that, at six feet high and 1,500 pounds, is billed as the world's largest. Its 606 hand-painted canvas pages will be...

Source: Catholic News Service

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/20030703.htm

On July 3, 2003 the Catholic News Service reported that "Charles Carroll, as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, helped established democracy in America... As the pre-eminent Catholic politician of his day and the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, he worked much of his life to win political and civil rights for American Catholics... '...

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/archives

On July 2, 2003 the Chicago Tribune reported that "neighbors have been complaining for four months about traffic and parking problems caused by Friday afternoon prayers at the... Muslim Educational Center [IL]. In April, when center officials presented plans to add a mosque and more parking to their property... neighbors successfully lobbied the Village Board to reject the expansion... Now some Morton Grove residents are...

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/press02/PR070203.html

On July 2, 2003 the Religion News Service reported that "fifty Christian, Muslim, and Jewish high school students from the Middle East, South Africa, Northern Ireland and the United States committed to building understanding between peoples of different faiths are spending two weeks together in a groundbreaking leadership-training program... The students, ages 16-18, are participants in the...

Source: Herald Leader

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/local/6215627.htm

On July 2, 2003 the Herald Leader reported that "the faces in the Kentucky Theatre last night ranged from black to white to brown... Their voices represented Jews, Muslims, Christians and Catholics... And they were all united in cheers... They were gathered for the patriotic "Faces of Faith in America' rally, hosted by The Interfaith Alliance of the Bluegrass... The event...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60386-2003Jul1.html

On July 2, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "a federal appeals court yesterday declared the 2 1/2-ton Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court to be unconstitutional and compared its champion -- Chief Justice Roy S. Moore -- to the defiant, segregation-era Southern governors George C. Wallace and Ross Barnett... The unanimous...

Source: Baptist Standard

http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=290

On June 30, 2003 the Baptist Standard reported that "Baptists bog down in theological 'quicksand' as they try to relate to people of other religions, church historian Bill Leonard reported... They’ve got 'one foot set in Jesus-ism and the other in pluralism,' Leonard said in a breakout session held during the...

Source: Appeal-Democrat

On June 29, 2003 the Appeal-Democrat reported that Ali "Jensen, of Santa Cruz [CA], converted to Islam about 26 years ago after exploring transcendental meditation and Zen Buddhism, he said. According to Islamic teachings, he prays five times a day and fasts for an entire month, among other things... Jensen was speaking at the second Yuba-Sutter Abrahamic Interfaith Dialogue Program, a group involving Christian, Jewish and Muslim members... Coordinators stressed mutual understanding and peace as goals for the dialogue. They also...

Source: Zenit

http://www.zenit.org/

On June 28, 2003 Zenit reported that "anti-Catholicism is enjoying a renewed lease on life in the United States. So says Philip Jenkins in his latest book, The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice (Oxford University Press)... A professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, Jenkins starts off by explaining that he left the Catholic Church, and since the late 1980s has belonged to the Episcopal Church. 'I have no...

Source: The Washington Times

http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20030628-104406-5307r.htm

On June 28, 2003 The Washington Times reported that "a Republican immigration lawyer from Falls Church is seeking to become the first Muslim to be elected to the Virginia General Assembly... Kamal Nawash, 33, a Palestinian Arab born in Bethlehem, says he is running for state Senate because he believes he can foster understanding between Muslims, including Arabs, and...

Source: Knight Ridder

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6182920.htm

On June 27, 2003 Knight Ridder reported that Juan "Gómez, 26, a former Protestant who became a Muslim in 1996, is learning the language as a convert to Islam. He embodies a religious phenomenon in Chiapas [Mexico], where one-quarter of the 3.9 million people are poor Maya peasants who practice myriad religions, often blending ancient rituals with Roman Catholicism... The religious conquest...