Posted to Religious Diversity News on January 22, 2020

Amrit Singh always knew he wanted to work as a peace officer. He spent years in law enforcement explorer programs, five months in a police training academy, and many dozens of hours working out and studying.

After all that work, the 21-year-old Sugar Land resident’s swearing in as one of the newest members of the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office took less than a minute.

The move made him the first Sikh deputy constable in Harris County and represented an important step forward in religious inclusion, local Sikhs said.

Source: He didn’t want to give up his religion to serve. Now he’s Houston’s first Sikh deputy constable. – HoustonChronicle.com

Posted to Religious Diversity News on January 14, 2020

While festivals after Epiphany are often known for Mardi Gras, a popular Filipino celebration of the Christ Child comes to several parishes throughout the U.S. in January.

The Festival of Santo Nino de Cebu — rooted in the deep faith of the Filipino people and originating in the Philippines’ Cebu province — finds special Masses, dances and processions taking place in which participants carry a statue of the infant Jesus marking the 16th-century arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.

Source: How Filipinos celebrate their faith during Santo Nino festival season | America Magazine

Posted to Religious Diversity News on December 2, 2019

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is speaking out against a jail’s showing of Kanye West programming because of the religious message with in it.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Houston, Tx has drawn the ire of the organization for two surprise concerts for inmates and staff in mid-November. FFRF says West coordinated the performances with jail officials and explained to the media that since his recent public conversion to Christianity, his “job is to spread the gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me.” But the national nonprofit opposes the practice and says the attendance by inmates was not voluntary.

Source: Freedom From Religion Group Speaking Out Against Kanye West Program in Jail – AllOnGeorgia

Posted to Religious Diversity News on November 21, 2019

The police department of Houston, Texas has adopted a policy that allows officers to wear articles of faith on duty, which is prohibited by many law enforcement agencies in the United States.

According to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, the department will accommodate Sikh officers by allowing them to wear their articles of faith during their service.

Source: Houston’s police to allow Sikh officers to serve with their articles of faith | New Europe

Posted to Religious Diversity News on September 24, 2019

The morning twilight was still shifting to daylight as throngs of Indians and Indian Americans assembled in a giant parking lot in Sugar Land, Texas, yesterday. A line of 14 buses was waiting to charter them free of charge to Houston’s NRG Stadium, where they would soon catch sight of both Narendra Modi and Donald Trump at “Howdy, Modi!,” the Indian prime minister’s latest address to his supporters in the United States.

Source: ‘Howdy, Modi!’ Rally With Trump Divides Indian Diaspora – The Atlantic

Posted to Religious Diversity News on August 12, 2019

Even the condemned deserve a spiritual adviser in their last moments

Source: Let chaplains attend to the condemned [Opinion] – HoustonChronicle.com

Posted to Religious Diversity News on June 27, 2019

Each year, more than a million Hindu pilgrims head to the annual Rhatha Jatra festivals in east India, mainly in the state of Odisha, previously known as Orissa. Houston has its own version of the event — created by former residents of Odisha who now call Texas home.

Source: Houston Hindus celebrate a journey to unity and understanding with festival – HoustonChronicle.com

Posted to Religious Diversity News on May 10, 2019

On a typical-looking stretch of southwest Houston — down the street from Kwik Kar Lube and Storage Choice, across from a privacy fence hiding cookie-cutter McMansions — a Zoroastrian fire temple opened last week: a brand-new, sparkling-white place where priests from one of the world’s oldest religions tend a holy flame.

Source: Zoroastrian ‘fire temple’ opens in Houston – HoustonChronicle.com

Posted to Religious Diversity News on April 25, 2019

Mayor Ravinder Bhalla of Hoboken, N.J., did not let his turban and beard — which are central to his Sikh faith — stand in the way of serving his community. In fact, the way Bhalla has held true to the tenants of his religion, even in the face of bias, while rising up to take the keys of his city, can serve as an inspiration to all, Houstonian Bobby Singh said. Singh is an active member of the local Sikh community and, for the past 25 years, has worked with the Houston Police Department and the Federal Bur

Source: The Sikh mayor of Hoboken visits Houston to share his story – HoustonChronicle.com

Posted to Religious Diversity News on January 4, 2019

Houston has a story to tell — one about diverse religions co-existing and thriving in one city.It’s a tale with countless narrators, multiple interpretations and a number of interesting details, a story Rev. Greg Han, director of interfaith relations at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, hopes to spotlight.Han hosts the new “Interfaith Podcast Project,” which launched on Monday. Each show features an in-depth conversation with a member of one of Houston’s faith communities. Each series focuses on a particular topic.

Source: New podcast meets need for more interfaith dialogue – HoustonChronicle.com