Source: The Washington Post

On March 8, 2001, The Washington Post reported that John DiIulio "lashed out at critics on the religious right who oppose President Bush's plan to provide government funds to religious charities, deepening a rare rift between the new administration and once-loyal social conservatives...Many religious conservatives have criticized the Bush 'faith-based initiative' because they believe government interference would compromise churches' spirituality."

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/03/08/MN220744.DTL

On March 8, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "John DiIulio, the director of the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, made his plea for Christian support at the National Association of Evangelicals convention in Dallas." In response to opposition toward the initiative...

Source: The Kansas City Star

On March 7, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported on the founder of HateBusters, an organization that arranged the first of a monthly series of visits by Christians to the houses of worship of three other major religions in Kansas City, the Hindu Temple, Beth Shalom Synagogue and the Islamic Center." The purpose of the trips, said the founder, is to ask, "How are we all as people of faith like each other, and how can we become neighbors?"

Source: The New York Times

On March 6, 2001, The New York Times reported that "the New York political theory [is] that the way to honor the dignity of faith is by passing special-interest legislation for every religion in sight." This began when the New York City government began "celebrating Id al-Adha, the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, by suspending alternate-side street parking rules." After the city's recognition of this holiday other religious groups began demanding special legislation as well.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 5, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that Census 2000 "is the first in which Americans were invited to mark one or more races, creating a total of 57 new categories with anywhere from two to six races... The census' formalizing of multiple-race answers...explodes the most basic notion of race: that there are discrete bio-cultural groups of human beings," and reflects four decades of "vast demographic shifts." Multiracial data will, among other things, complicate statisticians' calculations, the issue of voting...

Source: Star Tribune

On March 5, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an editorial by Donald E. Miller, in which he criticized Bush's faith-based initiatives for making religion nothing more than an extension of government. This is a problem because "one of the essential roles of the church, temple or synagogue is not just to serve the poor but to work toward eliminating the structural forces that create poverty...It is also the task of religion to be a judge and critic." The initiative, he said, would create generic forms of civil religion. Plus,...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 4, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on the Community Family Life Services center, sponsored by First Trinity Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C. As a typical faith-based charity, the center offers insights into [Bush's] contention "that faith-based groups are more innovative, nimble and successful than government in meeting the needs of people living in poverty... It also provides reassurance about...fears that faith-based groups might try to convert people seeking assistance, or...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On March 4, 2001, The Arizona Republic reported on the categories that have been used on census forms in the past century as America struggled to describe its ethnic and racial diversity. Among the categories that have been used is the "Hindu race."

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On March 3, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "Houston religious leaders from faiths as diverse as the Unification Church, The Nation of Islam and the Church of God in Christ banded together Friday to support President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and to make sure they get a piece of the action...By banding together... they hoped to ensure they were not discriminated against when seeking federal grants."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 3, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) has endorsed President Bush's" new faith-based initiative. He "said supporters must make the case that there is a proper place for faith in public life."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 3, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Taliban has ordered the "ruination of every non-Islamic religious piece of art in the country... Islamic leaders in the U.S. and other countries, including Iran and Pakistan, called on the Taliban to grant a reprieve." Muzammil H. Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, said the demolition of the art is "'a very un-Islamic act.' Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a national organization based in Los Angeles, agreed."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 2, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "misgivings [about Bush's new faith-based initiative] are coming from many religious leaders, including a number of conservatives who otherwise favor Bush policies...Some...have been burned by government regulations that imposed changes they did not like. Some members of religious minorities fear...that they will be overlooked. And there are some who warn that the grants lead to spiritual compromises; they say religion gets lost in the bargain." Pat Robertson, head of the...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/03/02

On March 2, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on artist and musician Karma Moffett, who delights Bay Area audiences with his "Tibetan Bell Experience -- A Symbolic Journey to Tibet," which is a loosely structured "wish-bestowing ceremony." The many who come to hear him are drawn by the sound of the 30 Tibetan bowls and...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 2, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Senator Joseph I. Lieberman...said yesterday that he would not rule out Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam from receiving federal funds through President Bush's new faith-based initiative. 'If the Nation of Islam established a separate corporation (for delivering social services), there is not a basis to deny them, presuming they are living within the civil rights laws,' Lieberman said." This position shocked many leaders who see the Nation as "a racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, anti-...

Source: The Associated Press

On March 2, 2001, the Associated Press reported that "President Bush's pointman [John DiIulio] for directing more federal money to religious charities says the effort probably will wind up in court, even as he tries to convince Americans that concerns over mixing church and state are overstated...He is convinced that the courts will line up on his side." His main argument is that concerns raised by the new faith-based initiative apply only to extreme cases. While he works out the details of how the plan will be implemented, "he's...