Religion

Regarding ?Public School stage not the place for God,? Mailbag, Saturday: I could certainly understand citing the 1st Amendment in being critical of the presentations at John Burroughs High School ? if there was actually a connection or a point, but there isn?t, so I don?t. Before we wring our hands and whine while citing the separation of church and state, perhaps we might all revisit the history book and actually read the 1st Amendment: ?Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

A recent article on CNN.com reported that the number of young Muslims using the Internet to connect and learn more about their religion is increasing. One young Islamic woman even started a website “as a place for young people in the region to ‘show a different side of our religion and discuss topics big and small, taboo and not,’” the article says. How important do you believe technology is in giving young adults the ability to learn more about, and even challenge, the basic tenets of their religion?

Mel Wolf's complicated treatise (Sept. 18) on the invocation at City Council meetings basically says we should pursue the issue to a higher court, hopefully overruling the lower court decision not allowing the name of a specific deity in City Council invocations. What about the atheist or agnostic in our society who doesn't share the supposed religious beliefs of a community? And I emphasize supposed, because I believe most people hold their religious beliefs quite loosely.

Can believers and nonbelievers connect? Is there a common ground they can agree on? Writing in the New York Times, T. M. Luhrmann thinks there may be, but admits it's going to be difficult. The author of "When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God," about how evangelicals develop the skills to speak to God and how it can change their minds, says that there's a line in the sand between those with faith and those without, a line that cannot be crossed because of the fundamental differences in beliefs and outlook.

Atheists and agnostics, your prayers are answered with the release of ?Religulous,? a comedy disguised as a documentary and hosted by your spiritual leader, Bill Maher. This low-budget new release is offensive, insightful and controversial. It?s also the funniest movie I?ve ever seen on the polarizing subject of religion. Larry Charles, the director of ?Borat,? is back with a vengeance, and this time the high priest of comedy is making fun of Christians, Jews, Muslims and anybody else stupid enough to be interviewed by his guerrilla filmmaking crew as they go on a comedy pilgrimage across the globe visiting holy sites and sacred areas.

A n AP-MTV poll has found that after their relationship with parents and friends, 55% of youths say religion makes them happy. Does that number surprise you? Is this number at all reflected in your own congregations? ? I definitely believe that one who follows a life of spirituality will be happier, and I see this phenomenon within my congregation. A strong relationship with the Creator and a sense of shared fellowship and community with other believers can be a source of deep personal contentment.

Gary Moskowitz MAGNOLIA PARK -- Kyle FitzGerald, a senior at John Burroughs High School -- and a Catholic -- has strong feelings about prayer in public schools. "I'm against school prayer in all forms, including the Pledge of Allegiance," he said. "It goes against everything this country was founded on." FitzGerald and four of his fellow seniors from John Burroughs will attend a town hall meeting in Sacramento Thursday to tell elected officials exactly what the teens think about the role religion plays, or should play, in public schools.

It wasn't religion that drove John Muir Middle School teacher Barry Sarna to take his seventh-grade class to church on Tuesday ? it was education. The social studies teacher led the seventh-grade gifted and talented students on a walking tour of Burbank, stopping by Temple Emmanuel, St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church and First Methodist Church. The excursion gives students a chance to observe the similarities and the differences between the religions, explained Mary Lou Stefano, a Gifted and Talented Education program teacher who helps organize the excursion.

Can believers and nonbelievers connect? Is there a common ground they can agree on? Writing in the New York Times, T. M. Luhrmann thinks there may be, but admits it's going to be difficult. The author of "When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God," about how evangelicals develop the skills to speak to God and how it can change their minds, says that there's a line in the sand between those with faith and those without, a line that cannot be crossed because of the fundamental differences in beliefs and outlook.

A s a truck driver, Carlos Trigueros said he works 17 hours a day, six days a week, and even moved closer to Burbank so his children wouldn't have to commute so far to and from Providence High School. Watching his daughter Karla graduate Saturday at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn was worth the sacrifice, he said. "I'm happy if my daughter is happy," he said. "We want to make a difference and bring good in the world, and that's why we put our kids in this school, so they could be better people."

Last week I visited Jet Propulsion Laboratory during its annual open house. I was told by JPL media relations that about 30,000 to 40,000 visitors attended the event. I was in high school the last time I attended a JPL open house, attending as part of an ROTC field trip. From what I remember, that visit proved to be most enlightening, as we got to check out the lab?s largest clean room, the Deep Space Network facility, and saw a Mars rover in action. Walking around the JPL campus got me thinking: What does the church have to say about all this science that?

Christian organizations in the United Kingdom are pushing for candidates to become more open about their religious beliefs, the BBC reported this week. With an election coming up May 6, would it be worthwhile for candidates to open up about their beliefs ?if it means a few more votes?? the article asks. While religion plays a big role in the funding and organization of politics in the U.S., the article says, in the U.K. it is less influential; as such, some believe that having candidates talk about their religious beliefs publicly would turn around British politics ?

LOS ANGELES ? Religious hate crimes, including a tagging incident at Glendale?s St. Peter Armenian Church, increased last year throughout Los Angeles County, according to a county report released Thursday. Religion was the basis for the third-largest group of hate crimes reported in Los Angeles County in 2008, according to the county?s Commission on Human Relations annual report. Hate crimes based on a person?s race or sexual orientation made up the largest and second-largest groups, respectively.