Civic

Editorial: Federal Funds to Restrictive Churches

March 23, 2003

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On March 23, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times printed an editorial stating that "to get a job as a residential counselor/houseparent at the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, Ga., you have to be at least 21 years old, a high school graduate and 'a professing Christian.' The job announcement goes on to explain that while non-Christians 'have done much good in our world,' the Children's Home is 'an agency of a Christian Church' and in order to preserve that identity, only Christians will be hired... You have to appreciate...

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Religious Groups Speak Out Against War with Iraq: Mar. 2003

March 22, 2003

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 22, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "the protesters who gathered on City Hall Plaza for the city's first interfaith antiwar march yesterday joined hands and prayed aloud to Jehovah, to Allah, to Jesus, and to Buddha for peace in Iraq. Then, in unison, they condemned the man they say is the real ultimate power behind the war: George W. Bush... Led by four Buddhist monks, nearly 200 protesters chanted songs, banged drums, and stuck daffodils in their hair as they walked from Cambridge to Copley Square, past the State...

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Iowa: Controversy over North Liberty City Officials Plan to Lease Land Intended for Muslim Youth Camp

March 22, 2003

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12067-2003Mar22.html

On March 22, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "so far, nothing exists of the Muslim Youth Camps of America except the name and some preliminary sketches of a main lodge with a domed prayer hall. Yet, the proposal to build a $2 million Islamic summer camp in Iowa has become a kind of Rorschach test -- a hazy picture in which supporters and opponents see...

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St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Church

March 22, 2003

Source: Buffalo News

On March 22, 2003 the Buffalo News reported that "in the nearly five years that the Rev. Stepan Kuklich has donned his gold-embroidered robe to stand behind the wooden screen and sing Sunday Mass in Ukrainian, his unusual American congregation has pleased and surprised him. 'They don't speak Ukrainian at all and they come and they pray,' Kuklich said at the end of one service with air scented with incense and the sound of bells from the altar. 'I'm just glad that they find a way to be part of the church...' When Kuklich first arrived...

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Buddhists to Celebrate Festival of Higan

March 22, 2003

Source: Honolulu Advertiser

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Mar/22/il/il15afaith.html

On March 22, 2003 the Honolulu Advertiser reported that "this month, Buddhists commemorate the festival of Higan ('the other shore'). As with many festivals in Japan, it's associated with ancestors who have gone to the other shore of the Pure Land. However, Higan in Buddhist teaching referred originally to the attainment of enlightenment or Nirvana....

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Religious Leaders Speak Out as War in Iraq Commences

March 22, 2003

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-religreact22mar22,0,436663.story

On March 22, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "prayers go out for civilians and for the U.S. troops in Iraq. But some from various denominations oppose Bush's actions... Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles: 'With American troops in harm's way, let us pray earnestly for a quick resolution to the present conflict in Iraq with a minimum...

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Arizona Council on American-Islamic Relations Launches "Operation Safe Haven"

March 21, 2003

Source: The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0321backlash21.html#

On March 21, 2003 The Arizona Republic reported that Arizona "residents are bracing for a renewed wave of hate crimes against Muslims and others, like what happened after Sept. 11, 2001, when a Mesa man was killed because he wore a turban... The FBI has warned that the war with Iraq, or another terrorist attack, could trigger such crimes,...

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Interfaith Maine Pleas Against Backlash

March 21, 2003

Source: WMTV

http://www.wmtw.com/Global/story.asp?S=1192106

On March 21, 2003 WMTV reported Interfaith Maine's statement that "the beginning of military action against Iraq fills us all with a sense of dread and apprehension... We fear for the combatants themselves, young men and women of various races, religions, and geographic backgrounds, who must face their mortality at time when they should be living their life to the fullest... We fear for the mothers and fathers who...

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Pittsburgh Interfaith Community Warns Against Ethnic Bigotry

March 21, 2003

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On March 21, 2003 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "with war under way it is no longer time for debate but for prayer, Bishop Donald Wuerl told Catholics gathered for noon Mass at St. Mary of Mercy Church, Downtown... Later in the day, flanked by Muslim, Jewish and Protestant religious leaders, he would issue an interfaith statement with similar themes, which also warned the community against falling into religious or ethnic bigotry... About 350 people attended the noon Mass, slightly more than usual but not enough...

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Editorial: Colordo Pleas Against Backlash from War

March 20, 2003

Source: The Denver Post

On March 20, 2003 The Denver Post printed an editorial stating that "in the tense days ahead, we urge Coloradans to resist any temptation to make our Muslim neighbors the focus of anger toward Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein... Although Hussein's Ba'athist Party is markedly secular - indeed, some may properly say the dictator has been anything but devout - he recently 'rediscovered' his Islamic roots in a transparent attempt to win sympathy among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims... It's important to keep in mind that Saddam Hussein...

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Interfaith Prayers for Peace at Washington's Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

March 20, 2003

Source: The Associated Press

On March 20, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "each Wednesday, four veterans of the U.S. military kneel and offer prayers for peace - using words of the faithful from all over the world - at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in the Yakima Valley... There are Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Bahai and even Zoroastrian prayers... 'We just don't think we have an exclusive voice to heaven,' said Bill Flower, 66, an Army veteran and a lifelong member of Holy Trinity... The idea came from the church's Spokane Diocese, which...

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Bruce Feiler Believes Media Missing Interfaith Awareness

March 20, 2003

Source: Newsday

On March 20, 2003 Newsday reported that "Bruce Feiler is an unlikely evangelist. Not five minutes into a conversation, the best-selling writer of Walking the Bible, and Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths pronounces that the media have missed the most important religion story of our time... And no, he does not mean the much-hyped clash of civilizations between Islam and the West... Feiler is referring to a story unfolding quietly and off the radar screen from Peoria [IL] to Patchogue [NY]: people of different faiths...

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Religious Groups Speak Out Against War with Iraq: Mar. 2003

March 20, 2003

Source: The Hartford Courant

On March 20, 2003 The Hartford Courant reported that "more than 25 churches in Connecticut have declared themselves "sanctuaries for peace" and will open their doors starting today for people to gather and pray... While congregations' opinions may be divided about the war, religious leaders say it's important that people have a place to go at such a crucial time... But the peace sanctuaries are not just a place for anti-war people to gather, Hughes said... 'Families may be coming from different perspectives -- some may be very...

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Harvard Hosts Symposium: "Buddhism, Globalization and Social Change"

March 20, 2003

Source: Harvard University Gazette

On March 20, 2003 Harvard University Gazette reported that "One of the world's leading engaged Buddhists, Sulak Sivaraksa, currently a fellow of the Harvard Yenching Institute, spoke March 14 in a symposium called 'Buddhism, Globalization, and Social Change.' Also on the panel were Venerable Yifa, a Taiwanese Buddhist nun and director of the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center; Charles Hallisey, associate professor of Buddhist studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Janet Gyatso, the Hershey Professor of...

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