Source: San Jose Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/living/5958658.htm

On May 28, 2003 the San Jose Mercury News reported that "as a practicing Muslim, Fatima is forbidden to date or dance in mixed company. Her predicament is increasingly common in the Bay Area, where immigrants and children of immigrants can find the prom season particularly vexing because of the added stress to respect cultural or religious values... The prom is supposed to be one of...

Source: The New York Times

Source: Tricycle

http://www.tricycle.com/p_articles_id_36.html

On May 27, 2003 Tricycle reported that "George Mumford, a former board member of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and of Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, is variously described as a Vipassana teacher, a sports psychologist, and a business consultant, but he is a maverick, not comfortable with any label. He may be best known for his work with the Lakers, but his life...

Source: Milford Daily News

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/local_regional/mill_memday05272003.htm

On May 26, 2003 the Milford Daily News reported that "about 600 people who gathered in the Millis High School [MA] auditorium yesterday to mark Memorial Day were asked to imagine they were on the parade route... The traditional ceremony began with a prayer offered by Kathy May of St. Paul's Church followed by the placing of the wreath by John...

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.Sun-Sentinel.com/

On May 26, 2003 the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that "as founder of a prominent Santeria church in Hialeah [FL], Ernesto Pichardo's first brush with City Hall came in the 1980s when the city banned animal sacrifices... Pichardo took his battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 and won... The decision is often cited as a landmark case that protects religious freedom... Now, the Santeria priest wants to take on...

Source: The Northwest Herald

http://www.nwherald.com/spider/NWH/news/282691894766842.shtml

On May 25, 2003 The Northwest Herald reported that "more than 80 people from [IL] area Buddhist groups on Saturday evening introduced Woodstock to Visakha Puja... Holding colored flags, shaking tambourines and beating drums, the procession walked to the Square to observe the holiday honoring Buddha's birth and enlightenment. The celebration - the first of its type in...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35615-2003May24.html?referrer=emailarticle

On May 25, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "the assumption behind President Bush's faith-based initiative is that religious charities can do a better job, at a lower cost, than secular organizations in providing many social services, from drug treatment to employment training. But an Indiana study suggests it...

Source: The American Prospect

http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/6/mooney-c.html

On May 24, 2003 The American Prospect published an editorial by Chris Mooney stating that "though not originally the favored candidate of the religious right -- John Ashcroft was -- Bush has played the part well. Virtually his first presidential act was to proclaim a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving; soon he appointed Ashcroft to serve as attorney general. Since then the stream of...

Source: The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/living/religion/5933425.htm

On May 24, 2003 The Kansas City Star reported that "the American Muslim community could be an invaluable resource on the war on terror, but it is virtually ignored by the U.S. government, say Muslim leaders... The Muslim community could also help in the construction of a realistic U.S. foreign policy toward Islamic countries, said Eric Vickers, a St...

Source: The Plain Dealer

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1053768712187801.xml

On May 24, 2003 The Plain Dealer reported that "growing up in a Russian Orthodox Church in Lakewood [OH], where the Church Slavonic language and ethnic customs were integral to parish life, the Rev. Andrew Clements was taken aback his first few days at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary... Everything was in...

Source: The York Dispatch

Source: The Jewish Week

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=7945

On May 23, 2003 The Jewish Week reported that "the shop down the block from the Eldridge Street Synagogue specializes in fish balls, not matzah balls, and the closest house of worship is the Pechau Buddhist temple. But the Lower East Side [NY] still reverberates with the energy and concerns of a century ago, when Russian Jewish immigrants built the neighborhood synagogue......

Source: New York Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/85901p-78408c.html

On May 23, 2003 the New York Daily News reported that "as part of an ongoing effort to foster a closer relationship with the community, the commander of police Patrol Borough Queens South held a breakfast meeting yesterday with local leaders... Assistant Chief Thomas Lawless, the commander of Queens' eight southern precincts, fielded a wide range of questions from dozens of...

Source: Reuters

Source: In These Times

On May 22, 2003 In These Times reported that "undergraduate and graduate peace studies programs have seen a threefold increase since 1995, according to Simona Sharoni, executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), which tracks the major and assists schools setting up new programs. There are now 381 peace studies programs at U.S. colleges and universities, according to Sharoni... While the field got its start in the so-called peace churches -- Quaker, Mennonite and Church of the Brethren -- it has expanded...