Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Florida real estate is a continual Ponzi scheme. For a heartfelt look at the human cost
when the Florida real-estate market collapsed in 2007, read
Exiles in Eden
by Paul
Reyes, a reporter who joined the family business of 'trashing out' foreclosed homes.
Religion
Florida is not just another notch in the South's evangelical Bible Belt. It's actually consid-
erably more diverse religiously than its neighboring states.
In Florida, religious affiliations split less along urban/rural lines than along northern/
southern ones. About 40% of Florida is Protestant, and about 25% of Protestants are Evan-
gelicals, who tend to be supporters of the religious right. However, these conservative
Protestants are much more concentrated in northern Florida, nearer their Southern neigh-
bors.
The majority of the state's Roman Catholics (who make up 26% of the population) and
Jews (3%) live in South Florida. In South Florida, Jews make up 12% of the population,
the second-highest percentage after the New York metro area. The high Catholic popula-
tion reflects South Florida's wealth of Latin American immigrants.
South Florida also has a growing Muslim population, and it has a noticeable number of
adherents of Santeria, a mix of West African and Catholic beliefs, and
vodou
(voodoo),
mainly practiced by Haitians.
Further, about 16% of Floridians say that they have no religious affiliation. That doesn't
mean they lack spiritual beliefs; it just means their beliefs don't fit census categories. For
instance, one of Florida's most famous religious communities is Cassadaga
(
www.cassadaga.org
), a home for Spiritualists for over 100 years.
