The World Changers of Florida, Inc. is giving Bibles to students at several dozen high Florida schools. It’s wrong. Students of all faiths and traditions attend public schools and they deserve to be respected. We interfere with an already stressful time by making some of them feel like outsiders.
Religion & Beliefs
Put God Back in Public Schools?
If we’re going to put God back in schools, which God are we talking about? Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of a United Methodist Church, calmly argues against the notion that God has ever left the public schools, and need not be forced back in.
Corporal Punishment: When a Religious Exemption Becomes a License to Brutalize
A harrowing recent series in the Tampa Bay Times detailed how for 30 years a handful of homes for troubled youth have used a misguided exemption in Florida law to get away with all manner of abuses by using religion as a shield.
Crossing Out Amendment 8: Public Money Does Not Belong in Religious Schools
Religious groups have no rights to public money when it comes to funding private schools, precisely because religious indoctrination is part and parcel of the mission of those schools, and taxpayers should not have to pay for that, argues Cary McMullen.
For Opponents of Amendment 8, “Religious Freedom” Has Never Been Under Threat
The so-called “religious freedom” proposal to amend the Florida constitution would create a government bureaucracy to channel tax dollars to religious organizations, its opponents say, jeopardizing the very religious freedoms it claims to be protecting.
When Riots In Defense of Islam Are More Vile Than Any Parody of the Prophet
“Innocence of Muslims” is a vile movie about Islam, but its movie maker had every right to make it, and it is far less vile than the murderous riots Muslim fundamentalists have launched as a result–or Mitt Romney’s political opportunism over the crisis.
Ayn Rand vs. Paul Ryan
Modern conservatives, Paul Ryan included, ignore the fundamental principles that animated Ayn Rand: personal as well as economic freedom, argues Jennifer Burns, while Maureen Dowd calls Randism “a state of arrested adolescence.”
Palatka Immigrant Khaled Mohd Sentenced To Life in Prison for Setting His Wife on Fire
Khalid Mohd, a Palatka shopkeeper from Jordan, set his wife Rema Jamal on fire, burning 85 percent of her body, when she threatened to return to Jordan with their two boys, after Khaled had himself threatened to bring a second wife to Palatka.
John McCain vs. Michelle Bachmann: In Defense of Huma Abedin
Michelle Bachmann and other conservatives suggested in a letter that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, of Pakistani descent, is a Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator. John McCain defended Abedin in a July 18 speech.
Student-Led School Prayers Are Now Legal, But Fear of Litigation Could Trump God
The new Florida school prayer law lets local school districts approve policies allowing students to deliver prayers at school events, but districts aren’t likely to approve such measures for fear of costly litigation.