Source: India-West Newspaper

http://www.ncmonline.com/content/ncm/2002/mar/0315southasian.html

On March 15, 2002, India-West Newspaper reported "South Asians Main Targets of Sept. 11 Backlash." It noted that "The first major study of bias crimes in the U.S. after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks found that 96 percent of 243 incidents of violence that were documented targeted South Asians. In more than half of the incidents, the targets were Sikhs, whose men wear...

Source: The Buffalo News

On March 15, 2002, The Buffalo News reported that "the New York Civil Liberties Union on Thursday announced its intention to file a federal lawsuit in April over the 'malicious prosecution' of Stephen and Linda Voith, Krishna Bhaktivedanta followers who... are accused of illegally housing... animals within village limits... [The Voiths] maintain the animals they keep on their 3-acre homesite in the village are an integral part of their religion... Krishna Bhaktivedanta is an offshoot of Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu-based faith...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 13, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "in recent weeks, fighting between Muslims and Hindus in India has left more than 700 dead." The article examines how this violence is effecting the South Asian community in the Atlanta area. "Nearly two years ago, two Indians --- one Hindu and one Muslim --- formed South Asians for Unity (SA4U), an organization that hopes to strengthen relations between the various communities from the region living [in Atlanta]. Today the group has grown...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 13, 2002, The Boston Globe reported that "the scourge of clergy sexual abuse has afflicted virtually every religious denomination: In recent years rabbis, ministers, and gurus have all been charged with molesting children... But the Catholic Church has been hit with many more allegations of clergy sexual abuse than any other faith or denomination. Recent statistics on the Archdiocese of Boston show "at least 80 priests have been accused of child sexual abuse over the last 50 years, and scholars say as many as 2,000...

Source: Newsday

On March 12, 2002, Newsday reported that "religious leaders across the city marked the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy yesterday with prayers for the victims and calls for healing and peace... The victims were remembered in temples, mosques and churches, as well as outdoor events across the city... Religious leaders from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish and other congregations gathered at City Hall Park to remember the dead, but also to sharply criticize the war in Afghanistan. They also denounced reported plans of the...

Source: The New York Times

On March 9, 2002, The New York Times reported that "the McDonald's Corporation plans to issue an apology and pay $10 million to vegetarian and religious groups for using beef flavoring in its French fries. The action is part of a proposed settlement of lawsuits charging that the company misled consumers... According to a draft of the settlement, 60 percent of the payment would go to vegetarian groups, with the rest going to groups devoted to Hindus and Sikhs, children's nutrition and assistance, and kosher dietary...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times featured an article on UCLA Medical Center's Spiritual Care Unit. The unit is "the hospital's chaplaincy training program... The full-time staff [at the hospital] includes a priest, a minister and a rabbi, with Muslims and Buddhists on call. Fifteen years ago, when the program was new, the full-time staff consisted of one Baptist minister... These days, religious diversity is redefining hospital chaplaincy work. While the patient directory at UCLA is usually about 65% Christian, the number...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 2, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "about 60 Atlanta community leaders from across the religious spectrum met... to get to know each other's faiths... The assembly was an outgrowth of a group started by President Eisenhower in the 1950s. The national American Assembly... meets biannually to debate and form consensus around U.S. policy... The regional assembly is new. Its first topic was planned long before Sept. 11 --- back when leaders decided to tackle the increasing...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 23, 2002, The Star Tribune reported that "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the main religion in Utah, but other faiths - among them Judaism, Buddhism and even Hare Krishnas [ISKCON] - have found a place in the mountains... the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple... This Hindu temple, with 350 families actively worshipping, is flourishing... In the shadow of the Delta Center, home to Olympic figure skating, sits the Buddhist Temple of Salt Lake City, one of 16 Buddhist centers in the state... It's a...

Source: The Denver Post

On February 22, 2002, The Denver Post featured a report that "stung by criticism of limits on worship space at Stapleton, the Interfaith Council at Stapleton will draw up a list of restrictions so religious leaders can at least know the ground rules from the beginning... Letters will be sent soon to hundreds of religious organizations that may want to build worship centers, said Landri Taylor, a spokesman for Forest City Inc., which is developing the former Stapleton airport... The amount of land churches, synagogues, mosques...

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 16, 2002, The Seattle Times reported that Joy Carey, a founder of Mystical Chant, expected about 400 people to attend the first daylong interfaith chanting event in 1999. However, "about 800 people came to St. Mark's Cathedral to watch and participate in Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist chants. "We were absolutely amazed at the number of people who showed up," said Carey, a counseling psychologist and Sufic Muslim. "I never expected this to be an annual event." Indeed, next Saturday marks the third...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 9, 2002, the Star Tribune reported that "ever since Sept. 11 the United States has seen a resurgence of sensitivity to and expressions of civil religion - we value service, cooperation, equality of justice and opportunity, respect for diversity and national symbols and ideas... The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, said, 'Part of what we're seeing is a firm commitment to the celebration of religious pluralism. In that it's a central value of a democracy'... Chemberlin said, '...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 9, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that "in a bid to thwart a lawsuit that 'threatens to shut down an entire religion,' the Hare Krishna movement said this week that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later this month... The International Society for Krishna Consciousness announcement comes in response to the recent filing of a $400-million child abuse lawsuit in a Texas state court... Plaintiffs aim to hold a range of Krishna institutions liable for sexual, emotional and physical abuse...

Source: The Oregonian

On February 1, 2002 The Oregonian featured an editorial on a meeting in Clatskanie, OR that was "sponsored by a Portland-based Zen Buddhist group, the Zen Community of Oregon, to explain its plans to remodel a former elementary school into a monastery and seminary. But many objected to adding the Zen sanctuary to the community's eight churches... 'Our goal is to protect those that have not yet accepted Christ,' said Loren Dummer, the Assembly of God pastor. He worried that that the Zen Buddhists, who are not evangelical, would try to...