Christianity

Panel Discusses Interfaith Marriages

June 16, 2001

Source: Newsday

On June 16, 2001, Newsday reported on an interfaith marriage panel, "which brought together four interfaith couples and four clergy members earlier this month at Huntington Congregational Church in Centerport [New York]." Among other things, the panelists discussed wedding ceremonies, raising children, cultural differences, and all that interfaith marriages can teach a couple.

Colorado City Resist ACLU's Demand for Removal of Ten Commandments

June 15, 2001

Source: The Rocky Mountain News

On June 15, 2001, The Rocky Mountain News reported that "the city of Grand Junction [Colorado]...said...it will fight an injunction being sought by the American Civil Liberties Union that demands immediate removal of the Ten Commandments tablet from City Hall...An injunction is necessary, the ACLU argued...because the city is moving toward construction of its 'Cornerstones of Law and Liberty,' of which the Ten Commandments is to be part."

Radha Krishna Temple Celebrates Opening in Utah

June 15, 2001

Source: India Abroad

On June 15, 2001, India Abroad reported that "a 15,000-square-foot high-domed Dradha Krishna temple...has been built...in Spanish Fork, Utah, by the Utah chapter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness...Among the guests invited for the celebration [of its opening] are...local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS)...In 1999 the LDS Foundation donated $25,000 toward construction and more than 800 local Mormons voluntered their time in the construction at various times."

Wedding Ceremony Combines Hindu and American Traditions

June 15, 2001

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 15, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the wedding ceremony of an Indian-American Hindu bride and groom. "The bride says her wedding day was perfect because it combined her Indian background and her American upbringing into one beautifully unique ceremony."

Council Denies Pagan Group the Right to Tell Fortunes

June 14, 2001

Source: The State Journal-Register

On June 14, 2001, The State Journal-Register reported that "a decades-old law that prohibits anyone from being paid to tell fortunes was reaffirmed by unanimous vote of Hillsboro [Illinois] City Council. The issue came up...when [the Coven of the] Mystic Moon [asked to] hold a fund-raising festival on city property at Lake Hillsboro. Among the games and activities to be offered would be readings of Tarot cards and fortune-telling...The practice of divination, or fortune-telling, is part of their religion, [a member of the...

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Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On June 12, 2001, The New York Times reported that "the Supreme Court ruled...that public schools must open their doors to after-school religious activities...The...decision [was based on the] principle...that the expression of a religious viewpoint is speech, protected by the First Amendment...While Justice [Clarence] Thomas described [the Good News Club] as teaching character and values from a religious point of view, both dissenting opinions said the activity consisted of worship and evangelizing...Another question was whether...

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Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On June 12, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "public schools throughout the Washington area have increasingly allowed religious activities on their campuses, a practice that was reaffirmed yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Christian youth group could hold after-school meetings at a public school in Upstate New York." An ACLU legal director in the area said the decision "reaffirms what people understood. They have to treat all clubs equally, including nonreligious clubs and religious clubs."

Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On June 12, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the U.S. Supreme Court...ruled that schools cannot prohibit religious groups from using their classrooms after students have been dismissed for the day...The justices ruled against the Milford school district in upstate New York [which] had rejected a request from a local religious organization, the Good News Club," to use one of its classrooms after school hours.

Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court strengthened the free-speech rights of religious groups...ruling that a Christian youth group must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school...The court's opinion stressing the rights of religious advocates should give a boost to President Bush's 'faith-based' initiative...In dissent, Justice David H. Souter said the ruling appears to stand 'for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civil...

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Supreme Court Ruling Permits Religious Groups to Use Classroom Space

June 12, 2001

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On June 12, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported that the Supreme Court ruled that "an evangelical Christian group has a right to meet after hours in public-school classrooms despite the religious content of the group's meetings." The ruling "may help pave the way for Bush administration plans to expand government partnerships with faith-based social-service groups.

Amish Fight Pennsylvania Traffic Code

June 11, 2001

Source: The Washington Times

On June 11, 2001, The Washington Times reported that "accidents have become all too common in Amish communities across the country. Speeding cars...travel on the same roads as buggies going 5 to 10 mph...Although they do display the required white tape and battery-operated lights, the Camden [Pennsylvania] Amish have refused to use the orange signs, saying the brightly colored symbol violates their religious beliefs...In Ohio, home to approximately 48,000 Amish, law enforcement agencies and government agencies are taking action...

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Baccalaureate to Be Held with Christian, Jewish and Muslim Speakers

June 10, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On June 10, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "A baccalaureate will be held...for graduating seniors of Gar-Field, Hylton and Potomac high schools, as well as for private school and home-schooled students, at Christ Chapel" in Woodbridge. "The baccalaureate, a religious service for graduates, will include participation by Christian, Jewish and Muslim speakers."

Parking Lot Shared by Methodists and Muslims Represents America's Religious Diversity

June 10, 2001

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 10, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a parking lot that lies below St. Paul's United Methodist Church and Al-Masjid Ul-Jame, "a bustling mosque run by the Islamic Society of the East Bay [California]...The landscaped lot is shared by the Methodists, who use it Sunday mornings, and the Muslims, who fill it up for Friday prayers...This island of interfaith real estate found its way into a new book by Harvard University professor Diana Eck, titled A New Religious America."

New Orange County Bishop Reaches Out to Diverse Parish

June 10, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that Tod D. Brown, the new Roman Catholic bishop of Orange County, made a "series of swift decisions, which include the announcement today of plans to build a cathedral in Santa Ana, [that] are geared to making the church more responsive to its growth and diversity. The soft-spoken bishop has appointed Latinos and women to key diocesan positions...He gave one of the new parishes a Vietnamese name, Our Lady of La Vang, a first for a Catholic church in Southern California."

Christian Women Increasingly Worship Together in Massive Gatherings

June 10, 2001

Source: Star Tribune

On June 10, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that "in increasing numbers, Christian women are replicating the Promise Keepers, men who get together to pray, sing and worship God in massive sports arenas. More than 11,400 women gathered...in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for one such event, Women of Faith...The Women of Faith conference is going to 27 cities this year."

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