Florida Amendment 8 Mandates Taxpayer Support of Religion, AU Leader Says

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A proposed constitutional amendment that would rewrite the religious freedom section of the Florida Constitution is dangerous, Rabbi Merrill Shapiro says.

Shapiro, president of the Americans United Board of Trustees and rabbi at Temple Shalom in Deltona, wrote a guest column for Florida Voices warning about Amendment 8.

Although described as a "religious freedom" measure, the proposal would actually reduce religious liberty in the state, Shapiro said.

"Despite what some would have you believe, religious liberty in Florida (and in America) has broad constitutional protection," wrote Shapiro. "We are a diverse nation of many faiths and philosophies, and …