Source: The New York Times

On July 16, 2001, The New York Times reported on the construction of a Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. "In the early 1840's...it was Illinois's largest city after Chicago... Had non-Mormons...not driven church members out, forcing them to make the trek west to Utah, Nauvoo might have evolved into something like Salt Lake City, a metropolis with a distinct religious character...In the 11-million-member church, expectation surrounds this project," which will be completed some time in September.

Source: The Washington Post

On July 15, 2001, The Washington Post reported on the Salvation Army's appeal to the White House for protection from state and local laws prohibiting discrimination against gay employees. "As a church, the Army is intolerant of sin, but at the same time, it chooses to engage with the secular world through its charitable and social work...Last week's controversy stemmed from disclosure of...a 'firm commitment' from the White House to shield government-funded religious groups from state laws barring discrimination against gay...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 14, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "Wal-Mart is suing a Riverside, Calif., church that set up tables to seek donations in front of its stores, saying the church has failed to abide by the [store's] policies... Since January, Wal-Mart has filed 10 suits in several counties against the 1,000-member Missionary Church of the Disciples of Jesus Christ, seeking to keep church members away from its doors."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 14, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on the Antiochian Orthodox faith, which "came to the U.S. in 1895 as a small Syrian mission. Now it is poised to seek autonomy [from its mother church in Damascus, Syria], and other Orthodox groups may follow suit...The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church has grown to 500,000 members in the U.S. and Canada...The vote asking for autonomy is scheduled during the church's national General Assembly, which will meet July 27-28 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles."

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 14, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "a federal judge said last week New Milford, Conn., officials violated a couple's religious freedoms by limiting the number of people who could attend prayer meetings at their home." The couple had violated zoning rules by inviting too many people, but asserted "their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and peaceful assembly."

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 14, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "a study of more than 6,000 randomly sampled adults by the Barna Research Group reports a drop in the overall number of mainline American Christians who are considered to be 'evangelical' Christians... The study also showed that during the past five years there has been substantial growth in the percentage of 'born-again' adults in four of the 12 groups examined...Barna classifies about four out of every 10 U.S. adults as 'born-again Christians,' based on the stated belief...

Source: The Washington Post

On July 14, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "at the annual meeting of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church...the finance chairman of [the] congregation...called on the area's 200,000 United Methodists to donate" to their churches the "advance payment'" check they will receive as part of the $ 1.35 trillion tax cut President Bush has just signed into law. "The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, which represents 1.5 million Reform Jews, also sees the potential of pooling rebates for...

Source: The Washington Post

On July 13, 2001, The Washington Post published an editorial on Bush's faith-based initiative, which asserted that "President Bush's faith-based initiative is in deep trouble because it lacks a constituency committed to its success, and because every move the administration makes to appease the idea's opponents weakens support from likely allies...The administration needs to start over...And if religious congregations were required to set up separate tax-exempt organizations to receive government money...many of the...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On July 13, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc. "is resuming its fight to have a monument displaying the Ten Commandments removed from a La Crosse [Wisconsin] park," which they originally began in 1988. "The Common Council will consider the request in August...The foundation believes it now has stronger legal footing...Public support is behind the monument."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 13, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the new Mormon temple in Orange County will be a modest 17,500 square feet...next to the church's Newport Beach meeting house...Mormon leaders said they soon will meet with residents who live near the temple site...The plans need approval of the city of Newport Beach."

Source: The Boston Globe

On July 13, 2001, The Boston Globe published an opinion piece by Derrick Jackson, about Bush's faith-based initiative, in which he wrote, "It was fortunate for the debate on faith-based initiatives that the Salvation Army was the first major organization to trip and fall into the ravine between church and state. When an all-American charity splatters its political innards all over the valley, it cannot be ignored how the initiative of President Bush is a government subsidy for faith-based bigotry.

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 12, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "with his signature proposal for faith-based federal spending increasingly imperiled, President Bush...made rare overtures to lawmakers in an effort to get the issue back on track...Furor [that] erupted over a deal his administration allegedly cut with the Salvation Army [is]...the latest setback...The administration has been steadily scaling back various aspects of the once-ambitious program, amid criticism, opposition and a lack of interest in the newly Democratic...

Source: The Denver Post

On July 11, 2001, The Denver Post reported that "a former Pueblo air-traffic controller...has sued his former employer in U.S. District Court for allegedly harassing and then firing him because he refused to work on the Sabbath."

Source: The Arizona Republic

On July 10, 2001, The Arizona Republic reported that the newest temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in Guadalajara, Mexico. "The Guadalajara temple is part of the church's continuing goal of expanding its reach beyond the United States...Officials at the 171-year-old church say Mexico has the fastest-growing membership outside the United States...The current Mexican Mormon Church was established in 1961 and claims just under 850,000 members."

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 7, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Pastor Mark Hoffman's "Foothills Christian Fellowship church filed suit...the City Council, saying it violated the church's civil and constitutional rights in May by voting against its proposal to move to El Cajon Towne Center. The City Council and the Planning Commission...said the downtown's largest commercial property was best suited for retail, restaurants and homes."