Source: Associated Press

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0407080280jul08,1,1851065.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

On July 8, 2004 the Chicago Tribune reported, "Learned Muslim clerics, Buddhist monks and Roman Catholic cardinals rarely find themselves in the same place at the same time with gurus, cult followers and mystics. But the Parliament of World's Religions, convening a weeklong...

Source: The Courier Journal

http://www.courier-journal.com/features/2004/07/06/weddings.html

On July 6, 2004 the Courier Journal reported that , "For more and more American couples, the standard wedding is fast being replaced by ceremonies with deep family meaning that incorporate the couple's ethnic heritage.couples, the standard wedding is fast being replaced by ceremonies with deep family meaning that incorporate the couple's ethnic heritage... The...

Source: AsiaNews/UCAN

Source: Outlook India

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/9078613.htm

On July 4, 2004 Contra Costa Times reported, "East Bay Hindu Community Center Inc. opened June 12 in a former Pittsburg church with prayers and support from dozens of believers who came from as far away as Stockton for the ceremony... The School Street building will double as a community center catering to area Hindus, offering a variety of recreational and educational...

Source: The Hindu

http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/06/28/stories/2004062802050200.htm

On June 28, 2004 The Hindu reported, "Two young Bangladeshi bicyclists are out on a mission to make the world a better place to live in. And they have chosen to travel to 178 countries not in jazzy-looking and technologically advanced motorcycles but on their Chinese manufactured bicycles to send a message across. Meet Kamal Kumar Saha and Mohammad Kamal Hossain -- both aged 25...

Source: NCM

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=01e729a2b1835e69c1db13b4822eab54

On June 27, 2004 NCM reported, "As San Francisco was handing out marriage licenses, the Northwest Women's Law Center and Lambda Legal Defense...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3829161.stm

On June 22, 2004 the BBC News reported, "Is nothing sacred? The hard-nosed commercialism that has spawned a boom in international business outsourcing is catching on in the religious world. In the West, there is a growing shortage of holy men of all religions, and the costs of spiritual services are on the rise. An opportunity, then, for India, where high-quality, low-cost 'religious outsourcing' is becoming...

Source: ic Coventry

http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=14352883%26method=full%26siteid=50003%26headline=caste%2daction%2dgroup%2dsets%2dout%2dits%2daims-name_page.html

On June 21, 2004 ic Coventry reported, "A new organisation which is campaigning to stop people being discriminated against in Britain on the...

Source: NWI Times

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/06/21/news/porter_county/c65

On June 21, 2004 NWI Times reported, "On a winter day in 1894, a train dropped off a lone Hindu monk in the area where Von Tobel Lumber is now located. Finding no on there to meet him, Swami Vivekananda made his way to a nearby hotel at the site of what is now The Franklin House tavern. He later met up with his host and was taken to the nearby Memorial Opera...

Source: Frontline

http://flonnet.com/fl2113/stories/20040702002204500.htm

On June 19, 2004 Frontline reported, "Ever since Dr. B.R. Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with about five lakh Dalits in 1956, mass conversion has become a form of collective protest for Dalits across the country, a willing abandonment of what they consider an oppressive hierarchical social system. The rejection of a system as a form of protest gets reinforced by necessarily choosing one of...

Source: Daily Post

Source: AJC

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0604/20notebook.html

On June 18, 2004 AJC.com reported, "At the recent dedication of a Hindu temple in Lilburn, the women and children were ushered away to a separate tent while the men took center stage... More than 1,000 people gathered June 13 to lay the foundation of what they hope will be among the largest Hindu temples in the South... Some of the women, however, were among the most...

Source: Christianity Today

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/007/6.15.html

On June 15, 2004 Christianity Today reported, "India's general election was expected to tighten the grip of Hindu nationalists on the world's largest democracy and lead to escalating persecution of religious minorities. Instead, the results, announced in May, are being hailed with headlines reading 'shock and awesome.' Despite pre-election polls predicting a comfortable victory for the...