Source: Fox News Channel

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,72791,00.html

On December 12, 2002 the Fox News Channel reported that "members of Syracuse University's Pagan Society lighted candles in the campus chapel, while curious students signed up for a new class on witchcraft. And at the University of Arizona and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, believers can be excused from class on Wiccan holidays... 'There is a cultural shift with college students identifying...

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=11458&c=37

On December 12, 2002 the American Civil Liberties Union reported that "President Bush's Executive Order directing federal agencies to make tax dollars available to religious organizations is unnecessary and dangerous... [T]he American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today voiced its strong opposition to the President’s plan. Rather...

Source: The Washington Post

On December 12, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "yesterday's Supreme Court oral argument over Virginia's law banning cross-burning produced an intense discussion of whether the Constitution permits states to prohibit political symbols that strike fear in the hearts of many citizens... The court's only African American, Thomas broke his customary silence during oral argument to drive home the point that the history of cross burning as a symbol of Ku Klux Klan hatred and violence toward blacks, Jews and Catholics makes...

Source: The Daily Statesman

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/884/public/news403974.html

On December 9, 2002 The Daily Statesman reported that "legislation proposed this week by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, could strengthen Missourians' abilities to practice their faith. The bill was filed in advance of the 2003 legislative session that begins in January. It would require the state to have a compelling interest in regulating...

Source: Newsday

On December 8, 2002 Newsday reported that "religious, ethnic and gay organizations say factors from victims' fears of reporting such [hate] crimes to police indifference in pursuing them add to the problem... The hate crimes report for 2001, released by the FBI on Nov. 25, cited a 17 percent increase over 2000 in such crimes. That included an alarming 1,600 percent increase over 2000 in attacks on individuals, businesses or organizations identified with Islam, a jump attributed to post-Sept. 11 bias... But if the FBI reports are to be...

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 7, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "monks have been flying in from around the world this week to stand vigil for the guru of Kriya Yoga [Paramahamsa Hariharananda], who died... at age 95 Tuesday of pneumonia... He had lived in South Dade [FL] for five years and his global organization is headquartered there... Not a religion, and accepting people of all faiths, Kriya followers believe spiritual energy is drawn through the crown of the head, and that concentration on breath draws one closer to God."

Source: The Associated Press

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20021206_1493.html

On December 6, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a college junior who lost a Kentucky merit scholarship when he decided to major in religion is suing the state, claiming it discriminates against students wanting to obtain degrees in religious studies by denying them funding. According to the lawsuit, Cumberland College junior Michael Nash was awarded $2,900 under the Kentucky...

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: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 4, 2002 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "while her fifth-grade classmates at Truman Elementary School in Pacific listen to the adventures of Harry Potter, Merry Noella Skaggs chooses to sit in the library and read other books. Martha Skaggs says her daughter's teacher should not read the best-selling books in class because they teach kids about witchcraft, which she considers a religion. 'They won't give equal time to other religious books,' said Skaggs, who identified herself as Pentecostal. 'If...

Source: Sunspot.net

http://www.sunspot.net/bal-ar.digest03dec03.story

On December 3, 2002 Sunspot.net reported that "Annapolis [MD] police charged three men with assault and committing a hate crime yesterday, alleging that they attacked a Middle Eastern cab driver, made ethnic slurs and told him to go back to his country. Charged with felony and misdemeanor assault and a hate crime were Ray Charles Bailey, 21, of Southern Hills Drive in Arnold; David Jacob Grobani, 19, of...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On December 2, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "a recently released survey by San Francisco's Institute of Jewish and Community Research shows that a far higher percentage of people in Marin County [CA] than in the rest of the country embrace alternative religions or no religion at all. The findings, gathered from random telephone interviews of 604 people in April and May of 2000, do not mean the famously wealthy and liberal suburban county is full of barefoot pagans wearing robes and worshiping in the...

Source: religionwriters.com

http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/120202/120202a.html

On December 2, 2002 religionwriters.com reported that "the first week in December includes the celebration of Advent, Hanukkah, and Eid al-Fitr, and Christmas and Kwanzaa aren't far behind. After a year of constitutional controversies regarding religion, the winter holidays are yet another venue for debating the meaning of religious symbols in the public square....

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

http://www.eeoc.gov/press/12-2-02.html

On December 2, 2002 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that "Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced the issuance of updated guidance, in the form of a new Compliance Manual section, on the prohibition against national origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 'With American...

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 San Francisco Chronicle

On November 21, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the Marin Community Foundation has awarded more than $60,000 in grants to 14 congregations throughout the county that are actively involved in community-building efforts. A variety of religious faiths are represented, ranging from Bridge the Gap (a partnership by Sausalito Presbyterian Church and the Marin City Church of God) to the Congregation Kol Shofar in Tiburon and the Novato-based International Association of Sufism. A grant to St. Andrews...