Largest Mosque in North America to be built in Orlando. (Jacksonville: transit, place)

[MrKnight]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

Still don't understand the desire to build mega religious sites here, it's not a very religious area. I remember seeing Benny Hinns superchurch and the Church along I-4 and thinking this place must be really religious. Come to find out, not really, but yet we still have projects like the Majesty building here. I'm not really sure why they want to build this Mosque here of all places. BTW I am not anti religious, I'm just your typical casual "I am _______ but don't regularly attend _______" type of person.

Well, being a large metro area of nearly 3 million we are bound to have a decent religious scene, especially on Sundays and religious holidays (like Easter, Christmas, etc.) when people come out in droves. Most of the major churches and denominations in the area are very active and have a sizable following. I cannot speak much for the Muslim religion though, I was not aware that there was a large enough demographic to build such a large Mosque in such a remote location..

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

Well, being a large metro area of nearly 3 million we are bound to have a decent religious scene, especially on Sundays and religious holidays (like Easter, Christmas, etc.) when people come out in droves. Most of the major churches and denominations in the area are very active and have a sizable following. I cannot speak much for the Muslim religion though, I was not aware that there was a large enough demographic to build such a large Mosque in such a remote location..

Interestingly enough immigrant church attendees will drive a distance to attend native language services as evidenced by the plethora of Asian congregations that have separate services in traditional "American" churches. I would also imagine the plot of land chosen for the mosque is a good bit less than something closer to the population center and a major concern when building from scratch.

[tinytrump]

this area is known as FL bible belt- you only hear about it when the pollsters are out to see who is voting for whom-

[ByeByeLW]

Hmm what I want to reply is not politically correct at all.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by tinytrump

this area is known as FL bible belt- you only hear about it when the pollsters are out to see who is voting for whom-

Exactly. The I-4 corridor is very much FL's Bible Belt so it's hardly surprising a large scale place of worship is being built, regardless of it's affiliation.

[Crane's Rooster]

I've heard the I-4 corridor being referred to as the Bible Belt but I honestly don't really see it. In my experience it feels like people are more devoutly religious in the smaller and rural areas. Even where I grew up in Ft. Myers people seemed more religious than here, or should I say zealous. People here seem to be more casual observers. Jacksonville seems more religious than here and from a Catholic and Jewish standpoint I always felt like South Florida had more active followers. Not to say people here aren't faithful. I never really knew of large Jewish Synagogue until I moved here and at first glance Church of the Annunciation in Altamonte seemed pretty impressive to me. There are faithful and followers here but I just don't see it as a religious area.

On another note this is kind of cool to see this going up in Sanford. For a town with a ill earned reputation for tolerance Sanford has welcomed some diverse places of worship. I know there is Buddhist Temple in Sanford as well.

[MrKnight]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

I've heard the I-4 corridor being referred to as the Bible Belt but I honestly don't really see it. In my experience it feels like people are more devoutly religious in the smaller and rural areas. Even where I grew up in Ft. Myers people seemed more religious than here, or should I say zealous. People here seem to be more casual observers. Jacksonville seems more religious than here and from a Catholic and Jewish standpoint I always felt like South Florida had more active followers. Not to say people here aren't faithful. I never really knew of large Jewish Synagogue until I moved here and at first glance Church of the Annunciation in Altamonte seemed pretty impressive to me. There are faithful and followers here but I just don't see it as a religious area.

On another note this is kind of cool to see this going up in Sanford. For a town with a ill earned reputation for tolerance Sanford has welcomed some diverse places of worship. I know there is Buddhist Temple in Sanford as well.

There is a fairly large Catholic population in the area, in fact the Diocese of Orlando has a total of 80+ churches in the Orlando area:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_...ese_of_Orlando

Not to mention, the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe is one of the largest churches in the state.

[boy3365]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Exactly. The I-4 corridor is very much FL's Bible Belt so it's hardly surprising a large scale place of worship is being built, regardless of it's affiliation.

I would argue that I-10 from Pensacola to Jacksonville is more Bible Belt like than other parts of the state when it comes to the general culture of the area.

Be that as it may, Orlando seems to be a huge hub for Christian events and organizations. There may not be as many churches with super well known pastors like Atlanta, Houston, or Dallas, but Orlando can still play on the same level field as them. Being one of the top convention areas helps too. Depending on the denomination, these groups or people may be very prominent to Christians on a national or international level.

*Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Christian television network, made Orlando its second home after buying The Holy Land Experience. If a crazy earthquake or drought runs everyone out of California, I predict Orlando will be their official headquarters.
*Charisma Magazine, a popular magazine geared towards Pentecostal and charismatic churches, came out of Calvary Assembly in Winter Park and is currently based in Lake Mary.
*Now defunct Exodus International was founded and based in Orlando.
*Ligonier Ministries, which is an important organization to people in reformed-churches (like Presbyterian Church in America or PCA) is based in Sanford.
*Christ for All Nations, the ministry of Reinhard Bonnke (the Pentecostal Billy Graham???) is based in Orlando.
*Wycliff Bible Translators is based in Orlando.
*Joel Hunter, Northland Church, Obama's "Spiritual Advisor"
*Paula White (probably known more for her Tampa work than Orlando/Apopka work)
*Benny Hinn started his church in Orlando
*Mark Chironna
*Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom and Rock the Universe at Universal Studios (two-night music festivals in September)
*Major Christian artists make regular stops in Orlando
*TV Preachers or mega-church pastors in other cities that people either love or hate like Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, etc. make regular tour stops in Orlando and even hold multi-day conferences. For instance, Dallas-based T.D. Jakes has HUGE multi-day conferences in Dallas, Atlanta, and.......Orlando.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by boy3365

I would argue that I-10 from Pensacola to Jacksonville is more Bible Belt like than other parts of the state when it comes to the general culture of the area.

It has some similarities I think to the Orlando area as Tallahassee is about the same size as Orlando proper (minus the remaining metro area) and solidly "Blue" politically and less influenced socially by religion. In both areas it goes from Blue to "Purple" and eventually "Red" pretty quickly along with the predominance of religion in everyday life. The I-4 corridor overall is pretty conservative outside of the Tampa/St Pete and Orlando cores.

[theurbanfiles]

I think Orlando is likely a hub for that because of the fact that it's in the center of the state. But even being someone who is a dedicated Christian, I like the sense of Christianity in the Orlando area as it is very moderate feeling. People are religious and practice good principles, but aren't in your face about it, which frankly, can do more harm than good. I would say the Tampa Bay Area and Jacksonville areas, as well as I-10 are quite a bit more religious than Orlando is, or at least it appears that way.