Source: USA Today

On December 4, 2002 USA Today reported that "when religious pluralism hits home � 22% of U.S. households now have more than one faith under one roof � the party's over for a growing number of families. Divorce is three times more prevalent in interfaith families with children than in same-faith households, according to the first national statistical look at the issue... The American Religious Identification Survey 2001 (ARIS) finds that of all U.S. adults who have had children with someone of another faith, 10% are divorced, compared...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.olesker03dec03,0,4820948.column?coll=bal%2Dnews%2Dcolumnists

On December 3, 2002 The Baltimore Sun reported that "Baltimore County [MD] swore in its new government yesterday... In the year 2002, Kenneth N. Oliver became the first African-American in history to become a Baltimore County councilman. Oliver's swearing-in was only part of the imagery of an...

Source: The Argus

On December 2, 2002 The Argus reported that "the police chief was baptized as an honorary Sikh, the mayor makes it a habit not to ask what he's eating, and local developers are amazingly adept at feng shui. Those are some of the anecdotes Mayor Gus Morrison told members of the Commonwealth Club of California, who were curious about what it's like to be a leader in a city as famously diverse as Fremont. Morrison told how he has been beat up by conservative radio stations for allowing a space in City Hall for Muslims to pray during a city...

Source: The Washington Post

On December 2, 2002 The Washington Post printed an editorial by William Raspberry that expressed concern about religion and politics. He stated, "I think power, combined with a view that those in power must not distinguish between their religious and civic selves, is dangerous, whatever its source. For now, the source is the right. The genius of America -- what has made this polyglot, polycultural, polychromatic nation such a success -- is that it has managed to devise a civic religion, less doctrinally specific but no less...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On November 30, 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "the American Jewish Committee has filed a legal brief urging a federal appeals court to maintain separation of church and state as it decides a Milwaukee-based case. The organization, a Jewish interest group concerned with religious pluralism, filed the brief along with the Anti-Defamation League and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The filing opposes government funding of Faith Works Milwaukee, a residential treatment program...

Source: Rocky Mountain News

On November 29, 2002 Rocky Mountain News reported that "held in a different worship center every year, Denver's oldest Thanksgiving interfaith service was begun in the 1880s by two churches and a synagogue. The event has expanded to include three more Christian and Jewish groups and the Buddhist Temple, which has participated for almost 30 years. The one-hour service was capped by a bread-sharing ritual and closed with America the Beautiful. The service will be held next year at Central Christian Church in Denver."

Source: Austin American Statesman

On November 28, 2002 Austin American Statesman reported that "at Barsana Dham [in Texas], a Hindu temple, there were gathered a Roman Catholic bishop, an Episcopalian priest, Protestant ministers of various stripes (Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Unitarian and Baptist), a Jewish rabbi, Buddhist monks, a Muslim imam -- and more. That's not all. There were about 1,000 black people, brown people, yellow people and white people, men, women and children, and everybody took off their shoes in respect for Hindu ways."

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On November 27, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that "a smorgasbord of religions will emphasize the spiritual side of Thanksgiving next week. Participants in the DuPage Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will include Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahais and theosophists. The annual service began in the early 1990s after members of the DuPage Interfaith Resource Network decided they could find common ground in recognizing that Thanksgiving goes deeper than turkey and football. The ceremony will...

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/329/metro/Law_shares_prayers_feast_hope_with_Muslims+.shtml

On November 27, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "wearing a gold crucifix and a flowing black robe with red trim, Law removed his shoes. Then, as the imam chanted the sunset prayers, the bishop knelt with his forehead just inches from the carpet and offered praise to Allah. No doubt, Law looked out of place...

Source: USA TODAY

On November 27, 2002 USA TODAY reported that "the volunteers who serve meals at the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C., also give sustenance to another ideal -- this is a country where Muslims and Christians live and work together. Imam Johari Abdel-Malik and the Rev. Graylan Hagler conceived the idea of a Muslim-Christian volunteer effort early this fall. 'We are a community under siege after Sept. 11,' says Abdel-Malik, who is a Muslim chaplain at Howard University. 'We need to come out of our bubble. This is a good...

Source: The Register-Guard

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2002/11/26/1a.patriotact.1126.html

On November 26, 2002 The Register-Guard reported that "Eugene [OR] city councilors gave in to a stampede of constituents Monday night, surprising even themselves by voting unanimously at an impassioned meeting to make Eugene the 15th city in the United States and the first in Oregon to formally seek reform or repeal of the USA Patriot Act. More than 200...

Source: The Anti-Defamation League

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/HatCR_51/4197_51.asp

On November 25, 2002 The Anti-Defamation League issued a press release stating that "the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called for increased education and training for police agencies and bipartisan efforts to expand federal authority to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. The 2001 FBI hate crime data, released today and collected under the mandate of the 1990 Hate Crime Statistics...

Source: FBI National Press Office

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel02/2001hc.htm

On November 25, 2002 FBI National Press Office issued a press release stating that "The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program today released the final hate crime data for 2001 in its annual publication, Hate Crime Statistics. During 2001, state and local law enforcement agencies reported to the FBI 9,730 incidents which involved 11,451 separate...

Source: Connecticut Post

On November 25, 2002 the Connecticut Post reported that "Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bridgeport [CT], using for the first time, an interfaith coalition of support, will have a two-story, four-bedroom house for Sundus, her parents and five siblings sitting on the property. Salem Lutheran will be teamed with members of Al-Aziz Islamic Center, Congregations B'nai Israel and Rodelph Sholom and Shiloh Baptist Church, all of Bridgeport, and Congregation Beth El of Fairfield. Habitat executive director Bob Knebel said the organization...