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Biblical Law in Central Florida House Race

By Julie Ingersoll

Central Florida’s heated House race between incumbent Democrat Alan Grayson and his Republican challenger Dan Webster is in the news again as Grayson, apparently as part of a more aggressive Democratic advertising strategy, released his own ad this weekend labeling his opponent “Taliban Dan.” The ad, which claims that “religious fanatics are trying to take away our freedom, in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in central Florida,” replays clips…

Citing Jewish Law, Florida Synagogue Challenges Abortion Ban — But Here’s the Problem With ‘Religious Requirement’ Arguments

By Rebecca Epstein-Levi

…e Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a Florida synagogue filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s abortion ban on the grounds that it violates Jews’ religious freedom. Halakhah, or Jewish law, the suit argues, often permits and sometimes requires abortion if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s health. Thus, any ban infringes on Jews’ right to free exercise. As a Jewish woman who supports unrestricted and unapologe…

A Public Monument to Atheism—In Florida

By Becky Garrison

On June 29, 2013, in heavily Christian Northern Florida, American Atheists will unveil the first public monument to atheism. A bench engraved with quotes from Thomas Jefferson, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Benjamin Franklin, and other atheists and freethinkers will be placed alongside a monument of the Ten Commandments on display in front of the Bradford County Courthouse. How did this come about? As reported by news4jax.com: American Atheists had sued…

“Taliban Dan’s” Teacher: Inside Bill Gothard’s Authoritarian Subculture

By Sarah Posner

…ngs, and the circles of his followers, “a very deep, complex morass of people and ideas and theology coming together and creating for a lot of people an experience that was devastating emotionally and spiritually and otherwise.” He added, “the huge devastation of ATI and IBLP is the emotional, psychological, and spiritual damage—the stuff they can’t be held accountable for.”…

Put Your Money Where Your Mind Is: A For-Profit Meditation Studio Opens in New York

By Michael Schulson

…website explains. In its DNA, the company is one half executive, one half spiritual. Burrows is a film executive-turned-life coach-turned-“spiritual tourist,” while Rinzler is a longtime meditation teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage. His 2012 book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar, has sold widely. Over the phone, I asked Rinzler why he and Burrows had chosen to establish the studio as a for-profit company. “We really wanted to make sure we had…

“We (some of) the People” Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Tea Party

By Julie Ingersoll

Central Florida’s Tri-County Tea Party organized a rally for Governor Scott’s signing of a controversial state budget today in the massive retirement community known as The Villages. It seemed like a nice day for a drive so I thought I’d head south to attend the rally, talk to some tea partiers and listen to the speeches. Scott, whose public approval ratings are sinking in the polls, had chosen to move the signing from Tallahassee to the tea part…

Florida School Prayer Bill Stalls in Committee

By Lauri Lebo

A Florida bill that would have allowed school-led prayer has been postponed for now after civil liberties groups made clear that the legislation violated the First Amendment. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, would allow the delivery of an “inspirational message,” including prayer, at “noncompulsory” middle and high school events. Student government would have to decide on giving such a message, which could only be delivered by…

The Role of Spirit in the #BlackLivesMatter Movement: A Conversation with Activist and Artist Patrisse Cullors

By Hebah H. Farrag

…er about her great-grandfather, a medicine man. Her interest in indigenous spirituality led to Ifà. For Cullors, spirituality saves souls. “When you are working with people who have been directly impacted by state violence and heavy policing in our communities, it is really important that there is a connection to the spirit world,” she said. “For me, seeking spirituality had a lot to do with trying to seek understanding about my conditions—how the…

Snake-Handlers, False Messiahs, and a Few Great Souls: 14 Who Died in 2014

By Daniel Silliman

…d a breakthrough in North American Mennonite’s understanding that the Holy Spirit calls both women and men to pastor ministry,”according to an essay collection celebrating Richards. She first took the pulpit of Lombard Mennonite Church, in the Chicago suburbs, on Easter morning,1970. Her husband, the pastor, had laryngitis. She was ordained by the Illinois Conference of the Mennonite Church USA three years later. By the end of the 1980s, the Gener…

‘Anti-Romeo’ Vigilante Squads Target Men Suspected Of Being Gay; More in the Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…Motivated in part by the deadly Islamic extremist attacks at home and at a Florida gay nightclub, a growing bloc of traditionally left-leaning gay voters has embraced far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, leader of the once-fringe National Front party. “Faced with the current threats, particularly from radical Islam, gays have realized they’ll be the first victims of these barbarians, and only Marine is proposing radical solutions…