Flagler NAACP Branch President Shelley Ragsdale is hosting a new weekly show on Flagler Broadcasting’s WNZF called “Common Ground,” an exploration of bridge-like themes that may narrow the deep divisions cutting through communities.
Religion & Beliefs
Ashura Explained: the Shiite Muslim Holiday that Inspires Millions
Ashura is marked by Shiite Muslims around the world. The modern-day impact of the Islamic pilgrimage has changed over the centuries. What was once a commemoration of martyrdom today inspires much more, including social justice work around the globe.
The Immense Tax Sums Religious Organizations Don’t Pay
If religious organizations in Manatee County paid property taxes, they would add $8.5 million to the tax revenue of the county annually, or 1.1% of the total, enough to cover, in just one year, the building of three newly proposed emergency medical services stations in the county, along with upgrades of EMS equipment and its 911 service.
Ahead of Its Planned Hospital on U.S. 1, Flagler Health+ Joins Palm Coast United Methodist in Health Village and Church Campus
Flagler Health+ and Palm Coast United Methodist Church celebrated the groundbreaking expansion of each institution on July 27 in North Palm Coast as Flagler Health+ openly competes with AdventHealth and the church will build a “North Campus” to reach more youth.
Why Some Younger Evangelicals Are Leaving the Faith
The institute’s study found that only 14% of Americans identify as white evangelical today. This is a drastic decline since 2006, when America’s religious landscape was composed of 23% white evangelicals, as the report notes.
White Gen X and Millennial Evangelicals Are Losing Faith in the Conservative Culture Wars
Some of the younger evangelicals are openly questioning their religious and political traditions while the majority of white evangelicals are aging and a portion of younger evangelicals are engaging in both religion and politics differently.
Supreme Court Upholds Religious Liberty Over LGBTQ Rights and Nods to Bigger wins for Conservatives Ahead
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling is narrow, but it means that any unequal treatment of religious groups will be regarded as a violation of the First Amendment, even if it comes at the expense of the dignity of LGBTQ citizens.
‘Lady of Guadalupe’ Avoids Tough Truths About the Catholic Church and Indigenous Genocide
Ultimately “Lady of Guadeloupe” sanitizes the real-life brutality of the Church toward Indigenous peoples in the 16th century. This absence of critical engagement with the account of the Virgin’s appearance does not do justice to religious devotion, argues Rebecca Janzen.
At County Memorial for Lives Lost to Covid, a Solidarity of Grief Near and Far, and Thankfulness for Essential Workers
Eulogies personal and universal were among seven invocations that seven clergy members delivered in the county’s–or any local government’s–first memorial devoted to the losses of the 15-month-long covid-19 pandemic this afternoon in front of the Government Services Building in Bunnell.
Would Daily Moment of Silence Help Florida Students with Stress or Just Steal More Instruction Time?
The Florida Senate passed legislation that would require every first-period teacher to set aside one to two minutes for a moment of silence. That would be every school day, meaning roughly 180 days in the academic year.