Source: Dayton Daily News

On July 14, 2002 Dayton Daily News reported that "prayers from... a variety of Christian denominations routinely open governmental meetings in the Miami Valley [in Ohio]... [But] a Xenia councilwoman is inviting Muslims, Hindus and representatives from other faiths to do the same... 'This is America' Patricia Felton said. 'We need to make that opportunity available to anyone who wants to speak'... Likewise in Columbus, the majority of those who lead the prayers for state legislators are Christians, but in recent years several...

Source: The New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/45304.htm

On July 12, 2002, The New York Post reported that the "Lutheran minister suspended for taking part in an interfaith prayer service for families of Sept. 11 victims said yesterday that he had no regrets... 'I feel that I've acted with integrity,' said the Rev. David Benke, pastor of Brooklyn's St....

Source: The Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locrelschools12071202jul12.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

On July 12, 2002 The Orlando Sentinel reported that "religious leaders from a spectrum of faiths met Thursday night in a Winter Park [Florida] church to grapple with the contentious issue of religious faith and public education... Panelists agreed that teaching about...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On July 12, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio... and the Religious Experience Advisory Council of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission are planning [a new] book, Religion in Ohio: Over 200 Years of Experiences... As the state approaches 200, Christian and Jewish bodies remain prominent, but now they have plenty of company. [The] book for Ohio's bicentennial in 2003 also will discuss the beliefs of American Indians, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and...

Source: The New York Times

On July 7, 2002 The New York Times reported that at Chatham, New Jersey's Quaker meetinghouse "for seven years, Quakers here have shared their space with Jews, allowing the practice of two distinct religions under one roof... 'The Quakers are an incredibly generous group,' said Deborah Fineman, president of Congregation Beth Hatikvah, which meets on Fridays and Saturdays before vacating for Quaker worship on Sunday. 'They've allowed us to make a home.'"

Source: The Denver Post

On July 7, 2002, The Denver Post reported that "when he was a child growing up in Los Angeles, Kanya Okamoto left out the words 'under God' when he recited the Pledge of Allegiance because the God referred to didn't fit with his Buddhist beliefs... Now, as minister of Tri State/Denver Buddhist Temple in downtown Denver, [Colorado] Okamoto still doesn't see the need for having that phrase in the pledge... 'But there are Buddhists who disagree with me,' he said. 'They have grown up with the phrase. That's OK...

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 6, 2002, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "a Christian law firm is suing a San Francisco Bay Area school district, alleging it violated the Constitution with its way of teaching the Islamic religion to students. At issue is a world history lesson conducted at Excelsior School in the Byron Union School District... in October 2001. In a seventh-grade class, students reportedly were required to participate in various exercise simulations including selecting a Muslim name, wearing traditional Muslim...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/06/MN157497.DTL

On July 6, 2002, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Rev. David Benke, "a high-ranking Lutheran pastor, has been suspended from his duties and ordered to apologize to all Christians for participating with Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Hindus in an interfaith prayer service in New York's Yankee Stadium after Sept. 11......

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 6, 2002 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured an article on the interfaith bridges being built at the City Museum in St. Louis's Salaam-Shalom Circus, "a year-round circus class with Muslim and Jewish children and their parents." The participants come from the Central Reform Congregation where "parents eagerly embraced the chance for an interfaith experience... Their partners in the interfaith bridge building are parents and children from Clara Muhammad School... Along the way, the parents have even invited one...

Source: Newsday

On July 5, 2002 Newsday reported that due to immigration, more Muslim students are attending Jericho High School in a predominantly Jewish area of Long Island, NY. "Hoping to learn more about a religion that for many Long Islanders remains steeped in mystery, and sometimes outright suspicion,... about a dozen Jericho social studies teachers spent two days this week attending a 15-hour seminar on Islam at the high school... The seminar, which included sections on Islamic phrases, the role of women, the history shared by Jews, Christians...

Source: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/77353_citizen05.shtml

On July 5, 2002 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that this fourth of July in Seattle, "311 immigrants from 65 countries celebrated becoming American citizens at the Ethnic Heritage Council's 18th annual naturalization ceremony... The event drew hundreds more spectators and a long list of speakers,...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that last week's two U.S. court rulings concerning religion in the public square demonstrate the strong "disagreements over the relationship between God and public life in America... First, a federal appeals court ruled that religion could not be part of a daily ritual of public school life... The next day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools could receive public school dollars... The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, executive director of the Washington-based Interfaith...

Source: The Council on American-Islamic Relations

On July 3, 2002 The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a press release "condemning a decision by Illinois' Cook County Sheriff's Department to strip police powers from an Orthodox Jewish deputy after he refused to remove his yarmulke, or religious skullcap, while on duty... The Washington-based Islamic advocacy group says it has offered to take up the case of the Jewish deputy, who was reassigned to clerical duties one day after CAIR offered public support for a Muslim deputy who is being...

Source: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

On July 3, 2002 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured an article on a gathering in Dallas of thousands of Christians to applaud the words of Benny Hinn, a celebrated faith healer, as he explicitly condemned Islam. "Several area ministers, joining the Grapevine-based Pentecostal on stage last week at American Airlines Center in Dallas, clapped and nodded their approval. The line between Christians and Muslims, they said later, is the difference...

Source: Statesman Journal

http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=44359.

On June 30, 2002, the Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon featured an article on the recent Pledge of Allegiance ruling. "The decision created instant furor, in part because the pledge is an American icon. But it may have just as much to do with people’s relationship with God — or lack thereof... In America, God means different...