Source: Dayton Daily News

On February 26, 2001, the Dayton Daily News reported on the concerns of members of the religious community and others "about how [Bush's new faith-based initiative] would work. They fear a blurring of the First Amendment-sanctioned line between religion and state. They wonder about the possibility of religious groups' misusing tax dollars to woo converts, religious institutions losing autonomy, and the government slighting less mainstream religions." Another concern is that Bush may be "attempting to 'push the burden on the...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On January 8, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "2,200 Zoroastrians from 18 countries gathered [in Houston] for the Seventh World Zoroastrian Congress--their largest gathering ever...Zoroastrianism originated in ancient Persia between 1400 and 1000 B.C. Their prophet, Zoroaster, taught people to worship one god, Ahura Mazda, and to believe in good and evil spirits and in heaven and hell. In its prime, the faith had millions of followers...The community today does not surpass 250,000." This...

Source: The New York Times

On January 1, 2001, The New York Times reported that 1100 years ago, many Zoroastrians fled from Iran to India. Now a "second diaspora" is progressing, as Zoroastrians migrate around the globe. Because there are only 200,000 Zoroastrians left worldwide and because interfaith marriages are common, many worry that the scattered members of this faith will assimilate into the surrounding culture: "we're not living in proximity, in the neighborhoods we had in India," said one. The Zoroastrian religion dates back about three thousand...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 23, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported the meeting of the Seventh World Zoroastrian Congress in Houston. On the agenda was the issue of "keeping the faith alive" among the shrinking numbers of Zoroastrians worldwide. Facing "challenges from cultural assimilation and intermarriage with people of other faiths," membership has shrunk to 250,000, 500 of whom live in the Houston area. "More than 2,000 people from more than 15 countries, including Iran, India, France, Germany and Bangladesh, will attend the...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On August 28, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Southern California's Zoroastrian community celebrated its new year last week...Azrir Bhandara, 37, a Zoroastrian priest, welcomed a dozen of the faithful Wednesday to his Irvine home, where he set out a white sheet on which he and the others knelt in prayer...Before beginning, Bhandara covered his mouth with a white scarf. 'When you pray,' he said, 'there is a possibility of spray coming out of your lips, but it shouldn't get into the sacred fire.'

"The new year...

Source: Star Tribune

On November 7, 1998, the Star Tribune published an article on how Zoroastrians are using the Internet to help spread the message of their religion. With approximately 140,000 worldwide adherents, Zoroastrians are trying to create "virtual" communities in order to preserve their faith. Joe Peterson, architect of one of the largest Zoroastrian web sites - www.avesta.org, lives in Kasson, MN and works for IBM in Rochester, MN. He is one of 60 to 70 Zoroastrians living in Minnesota.

Source: No source given.

From April 10-12, the Zoroastrian Association of Houston held their gala opening of the Zarathushti Heritage and Cultural Center. The Association Chairman, Rustom B. Engineer, wrote the following in the Inaugural publication: "...this center will always be a tribute to our community's commitment to the Zarathushti way of life in our new adopted land. We are at a very significant juncture in time and place. After hundreds of years of religious perseverance and migrations, the followers of Ahura Mazda have finally managed to reassemble at...