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{{Short description|American author and politician (born 1952)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{short description|American author, lecturer, and activist}}
{{Infobox officeholder {{Infobox person
|name = Marianne Williamson | name = Marianne Williamson
|image = Marianne Williamson - 33252886458 (cropped).jpg | image = Marianne Williamson (48541662667) (cropped).jpg
|caption = Williamson in February 2019 | caption = Williamson in 2019
|birth_name = Marianne Deborah Williamson | birth_name = Marianne Deborah Williamson
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|7|8}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|7|8}}
|birth_place = ], ], U.S. | birth_place = ], U.S.
|death_date = | death_date =
|death_place = | death_place =
|party = ]<br>] {{small|(2014)}} | party =]
|children = 1 | children = 1
|education = ] | education =
| occupation = {{flatlist|
|signature = Marianne Williamson signature.png
* Author
* teacher
* politician
* activist}}
| signature = Marianne Williamson signature.png
| website = {{URL|https://williamsonlearningcenter.com//|Marianne Williamson}}
}} }}
'''Marianne Deborah Williamson''' (born July 8, 1952)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adze.com/Celebrities/MarianneWilliamson.htm|title=StarBios Report for Marianne Williamson|author=Knapp, Gwenn|year=2006|publisher=MOTTASIA Inc.|accessdate=July 12, 2006|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018034334/http://www.adze.com/Celebrities/MarianneWilliamson.htm|archivedate=October 18, 2006|df=}}</ref> is an American author, lecturer, and activist. She has written 13 books,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/17297.Marianne_Williamson |title= Books by Marianne Williamson |work= Good Reads |accessdate=February 5, 2018}}</ref> including four '']'' ].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2016/07/10/religion-spirituality-and-faith/ |title= Religion, Spirituality and Faith |work= ] |accessdate=February 5, 2018}}</ref> She is the founder of ], a volunteer food delivery program that serves home-bound people with ] and other life-threatening illnesses.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.angelfood.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_history |title= Our History |work= Project Angel Food |accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref> She is also the co-founder of the ], a nonprofit grassroots education and advocacy organization supporting peace-building projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://peacealliance.org/who-we-are/history/|title=History|work=The Peace Alliance|accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref>


'''Marianne Deborah Williamson''' (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, speaker, and political activist. She began her professional career as spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a ] in ]. Williamson has written several ] books, including '']'' in 1992, which became a ]. She was launched into prominence by ], being a frequent guest on ] and becoming known as her "spiritual advisor".<ref name="Axios" />
In 2014, as an ], Williamson ran unsuccessfully for the seat of ] in the ]. On January 29, 2019, she announced her ] to seek the Democratic nomination for the ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowden |first1=John |title=Author Marianne Williamson running for 2020 Dem nomination |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/427394-author-marianne-williamson-running-for-2020-dem-nomination |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=] |date=January 29, 2019}}</ref>

Williamson ran unsuccessfully as an ] for ] in the ] in 2014, finishing fourth with 13.2% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news |title=California Primary Results |language= |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2014/results/primaries/california |access-date=February 7, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207135715/https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2014/results/primaries/california |url-status=live }}</ref> She ] in 2020, eventually dropping out and endorsing ].<ref name=whitehousecampend>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/us/politics/marianne-williamson-drops-out.html|title=Marianne Williamson Drops Out Of 2020 Race|first=Maggie|last=Astor|work=The New York Times|date=January 10, 2020|access-date=January 10, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111211633/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/us/politics/marianne-williamson-drops-out.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Grayer |first1=Annie |title=Marianne Williamson endorses Bernie Sanders for president |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/23/politics/marianne-williamson-bernie-sanders-2020/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=February 23, 2020 |date=February 23, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224023255/https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/23/politics/marianne-williamson-bernie-sanders-2020/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She ] in the ], challenging incumbent President ].<ref name=sdutmar4 /> Williamson's presidential platform calls for an end to the ], a ] increase, ], addressing ], and creating a U.S. Department of Peace. On February 7, 2024, she announced she had suspended her campaign after receiving 2.9% of the vote in the Nevada Democratic primary,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/07/politics/marianne-williamson-suspends-presidential-campaign/index.html|title=Marianne Williamson suspends long-shot Democratic presidential campaign|date=February 7, 2024|author=Iyer, Kaanita|work=CNN}}</ref> but on February 28, 2024, Williamson re-entered the presidential race after placing third in the ], receiving 3% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|last=Guilfoil|first=Kyla|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/marianne-williamson-unsuspends-presidential-campaign-rcna140882|title=Marianne Williamson unsuspends her presidential campaign after placing 3rd in Michigan
|publisher=]|date=February 28, 2024|access-date=February 28, 2024}}</ref> However, on June 11, 2024, Williamson suspended her campaign.<ref name="abcjune12">{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson signals end of 2024 bid now that presidential primaries have ended |first=Isabella |last=Murray |work=] |date=June 12, 2024 |access-date=June 14, 2024 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-signals-end-2024-bid-now-presidential/story?id=111054784}}</ref> On July 2, 2024, Williamson re-entered the presidential race amidst calls for Biden to drop out after his ] performance,<ref name="hilljuly2">{{cite news|title=Marianne Williamson calls to replace Biden: 'Today I throw my hat in the ring'|first=Sarah |last=Fortinsky |work=] |date=July 2, 2024 |access-date=July 3, 2024 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4752419-marianne-williamson-democratic-party-candidate/}}</ref> before later dropping out again on July 29.<ref name="yahoojuly29">{{Cite news |date=July 29, 2024|title=Marianne Williamson Ends Longshot 2024 Presidential Bid |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/marianne-williamson-ends-longshot-2024-220408251.html |access-date=July 29, 2024|publisher=] |work=] |language=en|last1=Lowenkron|first1=Hadriana}}</ref> She announced her bid for ] on December 26, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-26 |title=Marianne Williamson launches bid for DNC chair |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/marianne-williamson-launches-bid-dnc-chair-rcna185447 |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Millman |first=Andrew |date=2024-12-26 |title=Marianne Williamson announces run for DNC chair {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/26/politics/marianne-williamson-dnc-chair/index.html |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

Williamson has been actively involved with charity work, founding such organizations as Center for Living in 1987, ] in 1989, and the ] in 1998. She sits on the board for ], a nonprofit group which is dedicated to finding long-term solutions to ].


==Early life and education== ==Early life and education==
Williamson was born in ], Texas, in 1952.<ref>Munson, Zack. , '']'', Vol. 19, No. 22. 2014 February 17</ref><ref name="latimes14">Merl, Jean. , ''],'' 2014 January 13</ref><ref name="ew92appelo">Appelo, Tim. , ''],'' 1992 March 6</ref> She is the youngest of three children of Samuel "Sam" Williamson, an immigration lawyer,<ref name="ew92appelo"/><ref name="latimes92">Pristin, Terry. , "]," 1992 February 16</ref> and Sophie Ann (Kaplan), a homemaker.<ref name="people92">Schindehette, Susan. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022005438/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20112175,00.html/ |date=October 22, 2015 }}, ''],'' 1992 March. 09</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jhvonline.com/sophie-ann-kaplan-williamson-p4164.htm|title=Jewish Herald-Voice|work=jhvonline.com}}</ref> Her family is Jewish.<ref name="latimes92" /> After graduating from Houston's ], Williamson spent two years studying theater and philosophy at ] in ].<ref name="people92"/> Williamson was born in ], ], in 1952. She is the youngest of three children of Samuel "Sam" Williamson, a ] veteran and immigration lawyer, and Sophie Ann Kaplan, a homemaker and community volunteer.<ref name=LATimes92>{{cite news|last=Pristin|first=Terry|title=The Power, the Glory, the Glitz: Marianne Williamson, an ex-nightclub singer, has attracted many in Hollywood with her blend of new-time religion and self-help{{snd}}and alienated more than a few|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-16-ca-4649-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 16, 1992|access-date=July 28, 2019|archive-date=July 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731092649/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-16-ca-4649-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=People92>{{cite news|last=Schindehette|first=Susan|title=The Divine Miss W|magazine=]|url=https://people.com/archive/the-divine-miss-w-vol-37-no-9/|date=March 9, 1992|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624191610/https://people.com/archive/the-divine-miss-w-vol-37-no-9/|url-status=live}}</ref>


Williamson was raised in an upper-middle-class family that practiced ].<ref name=LATimes92/><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Interview with Marianne Williamson |url=https://www.maxraskin.com/interviews/marianne-williamson |access-date=October 12, 2022 |website=Interviews with Max Raskin |language=en-US |archive-date=October 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012001835/https://www.maxraskin.com/interviews/marianne-williamson |url-status=live }}</ref> Her family attended Congregation ].<ref name=JTA>{{cite web|author=Debra Nussbaum Cohen|title=New Age guru Marianne Williamson talks about her Jewishness and 2020 presidential run|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/11/28/politics/new-age-guru-marianne-williamson-talks-about-her-jewishness-and-2020-presidential-run|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630020355/https://www.jta.org/2018/11/28/politics/new-age-guru-marianne-williamson-talks-about-her-jewishness-and-2020-presidential-run|url-status=live}}</ref> She learned about world religions and ] at home and became interested in public advocacy when she saw her rabbi speak against the ].<ref name=JTA/>
==Writing and speaking career==
Williamson dropped out of college her junior year in 1973 and moved to New York City, with the initial intention of pursuing a career as a cabaret singer.<ref name="people92" /><ref name="latimes92"/>


In 1965, after Williamson came home from school in the seventh grade, she recounted to her parents that her teacher supported the Vietnam War. Her father reacted by taking the family to Vietnam to help explain to Marianne why he thought that the war was wrong.<ref name="nyt_politco">{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Schwartz| first = Casey| title = Marianne Williamson: A Politico or Apolitical?| work = The New York Times| accessdate = May 4, 2023| date = January 16, 2022| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/style/marianne-williamson.html| archive-date = May 4, 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230504192502/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/style/marianne-williamson.html| url-status = live}}</ref> She has said that through travel she "had an experience, at a young age, that people are the same everywhere."<ref name="KQED" />
In 1979, after delving into '']'', she returned to Houston, where she ran a combination metaphysical bookstore and coffeeshop.<ref name="people92"/><ref name=LAMagNewAge/>


Williamson attended ]'s ].<ref>"Meet the Class of 2020's Overachievers," ''New York,'' April 1–14, 2019, p. 13</ref> After graduating, she spent two years studying theater and philosophy at ] in ], where she was a roommate of future film producer ].<ref name="People92" />
In 1983 she moved to Los Angeles. She began regularly lecturing on ''A Course in Miracles'' in Los Angeles and New York City, and eventually in other cities in the U.S. and Europe as well.<ref name=LAMagNewAge>{{cite news |last1=Harel |first1=Monica Corcoran |title=The New Age of Marianne Williamson |url=https://www.lamag.com/longform/the-new-age-of-marianne-williamson/2/ |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=] |date=May 27, 2014}}</ref><ref>
In 1973, Williamson dropped out of college and lived "a nomadic existence" during what she calls "her wasted decade".<ref name="People92" /><ref name="JTA" /><ref name="Greensboro">{{cite news|last=Capuzzo|first=Mike|title=The Prophet, Marianne 'Hollywood's Answer to God'|url=https://www.greensboro.com/the-prophet-marianne-hollywood-s-answer-to-god/article_84db671f-f4ad-53fc-8080-b37a82c295ee.html|newspaper=Greensboro News & Record|date=May 29, 1993|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816213045/https://www.greensboro.com/the-prophet-marianne-hollywood-s-answer-to-god/article_84db671f-f4ad-53fc-8080-b37a82c295ee.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{cite news |last1=Weig |first1=Nick |title=PROFILE: Marianne Williamson |url=https://cbs2iowa.com/news/beyond-the-podium/profile-marianne-williamson |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=] |date=February 4, 2019}}
*{{cite web |last1=Siegel |first1=Zachary |title=Marianne Williamson—Because Love is not Passive |url=https://www.thefix.com/content/course-miracles-marianne-williamson |website=TheFix.com |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |date=March 9, 2015}}
*{{cite news |last1=Micucci |first1=Dana |title='Anytime you try to be a loving...' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-03-29-9201280964-story.html |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=] |date=March 29, 1992}}
*{{cite news |last1=Tolson |first1=Mike |title=Houston-raised Marianne Williamson eyes a California congressional seat |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/features/article/Houston-raised-Marianne-Williamson-eyes-a-5413597.php |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=] |date=April 18, 2014}}
*{{cite news |last1=Lett |first1=Alexsandra |title=Marianne Williamson Spreads Message Of Unity |url=http://mydailyrecord.com/stories/marianne-williamson-spreads-message-of-unity,4174 |accessdate=February 13, 2019 |work=The Daily Record |date=January 19, 2018}}
</ref>


Williamson moved to ], where she took classes at the ] and lived in a ] with her boyfriend.<ref name="Greensboro" /><ref name="KQED" /> The couple broke up a year later. Marianne then moved to ], where she took classes at the ].<ref name="KQED" /> After leaving Texas, she went to ], intending to pursue a career as a ] singer; however, she has stated that she was distracted by "bad boys and good dope".<ref name="People92" /><ref name="LAMag">{{cite news|author=Monica Corcoran Harel|title=The New Age of Marianne Williamson|magazine=Los Angeles Magazine|url=https://www.lamag.com/longform/the-new-age-of-marianne-williamson/|date=May 27, 2014|access-date=November 18, 2018|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407042452/https://www.lamag.com/longform/the-new-age-of-marianne-williamson/|url-status=live}}</ref> ] wrote that Williamson "spent her twenties in a growing state of ]."<ref name="VanityFair" /> In New York, Williamson suffered from ] following the end of a relationship.<ref name="LATimes92" /> She has said that this experience gave rise to a desire to spend the rest of her life helping people.<ref name="VanityFair" />
She published her first book, '']'', in 1992.


==== Books ==== ==''A Course in Miracles''==
Although initially uninterested due to her Jewish faith, Williamson developed an interest in ]'s book '']'' in 1976.<ref name="JTA" /><ref name=DailyRecord>{{cite news|last=Lett|first=Alexsandra|title=Marianne Williamson Spreads Message Of Unity|publisher=The Daily Record|url=http://mydailyrecord.com/stories/marianne-williamson-spreads-message-of-unity,4174|date=January 19, 2018|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429044606/http://mydailyrecord.com/stories/marianne-williamson-spreads-message-of-unity,4174|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Elle>{{cite news|last=Fortini|first=Amanda|title=Marianne Williamson is Campaigning for a Miracle|magazine=Elle|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/interviews/a12708/marianne-williamson-profile/|date=April 25, 2014|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=September 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904023433/https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/interviews/a12708/marianne-williamson-profile/|url-status=live}}</ref> She explored spirituality, ], and ] as she began reading the ''Course'' "passionately".<ref name=LAMag/> She also reconciled the ''Course'' with her ]; in her view, "A conversion to ] is not a conversion to Christianity. It is a conversion to a conviction of the heart".<ref name=VanityFair/>
Williamson's first book, ''A Return To Love'', was featured on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' in 1992 and remained on '']'' ] for 39 weeks.<ref>{{cite news |title=Faith: Marianne Williamson is Full of It |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1997/11/faith-marianne-williamson-full-it/2/ |issue=November/December 1997 |work=]}}</ref> She has published 12 other books, seven of which have been on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list and four of which have been #1.<ref>{{cite news |title=BEST SELLERS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/06/books/best-sellers-september-6-1992.html |work=] |date=September 6, 1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/best-sellers-july-11-1993.html |work=] |date=July 11, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/01/books/best-sellers-january-1-1995.html |work=] |date=January 1, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Best Sellers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/books/paperback-best-sellers-december-15-2002.html |work=] |date=December 15, 2002}}</ref> She has sold more than 3 million copies of her books.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, Hollywood self-help guru, wants to heal Washington |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/marianne-williamson-hollywood-self-help-guru-wants-to-heal-washington/2014/03/11/378b0d02-a85f-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html |work=] |date=March 11, 2014}}</ref> In 2018, she published a 20th anniversary revised edition of ''Healing the Soul of America''.<ref name="Healing the Soul Of America">{{cite web |title=Healing the Soul Of America |url=https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Soul-America-20th-Anniversary/dp/1982101563/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541450273&sr=8-1&keywords=healing+the+soul+of+america |website=Amazon.com}}</ref>


Williamson said the book was her "path out of hell", as she had been "mired in a series of unhappy love affairs, ], a ], and endless sessions with therapists."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bucktin |first=Christopher |date=April 25, 2020 |title=Meghan and Harry risk backlash with link to controversial 'b*tch for God' |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meghan-markle-harry-risk-backlash-21926464 |access-date=May 8, 2023 |website=mirror |language=en |archive-date=May 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508182020/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meghan-markle-harry-risk-backlash-21926464 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ChiTrib>{{cite news|last=Micucci|first=Dana|title=Anytime you try to be a loving...|newspaper=]|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-03-29-9201280964-story.html|date=March 29, 1992|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=February 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213123952/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-03-29-9201280964-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=HouChron>{{cite news|last=Tolson|first=Mike|title=Houston-raised Marianne Williamson eyes a California congressional seat|newspaper=]|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/features/article/Houston-raised-Marianne-Williamson-eyes-a-5413597.php|date=April 18, 2014|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=February 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213183522/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/features/article/Houston-raised-Marianne-Williamson-eyes-a-5413597.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Course'' has often been described as a ] or ].<ref name=Dream>{{cite news|author=James D. Davis|title=Life is But a Dream There Is No Problem a Little "Spiritual Awakening" Can't Solve, Say Proponents of a New Age Philosophy Called A Course in Miracles|publisher=South Florida Sun Sentinel|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1993-03-07-9301130978-story.html|date=March 7, 1993|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818211607/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1993-03-07-9301130978-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Themselves>{{cite news|author=James D. Davis|title=For Marianne Williamson and Donald Trump, religion is all about themselves|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/01/self-centered-religion-shared-by-marianne-williamson-president-trump/?noredirect=on|date=August 1, 2019}}</ref> Williamson disagrees, describing it as a "spiritual psychotherapy" instead of a religion.<ref name="Maher">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tkKdo1myY |title=Real Time with Bill Maher: Marianne Williamson |date=August 2, 2019 |publisher=HBO |time=1m00s |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815224504/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tkKdo1myY |url-status=live }}</ref>
=====''Healing the Soul of America''=====
In 1997 Williamson published her book ''Healing the Soul of America'' (hardcover originally titled ''The Healing of America'') and began a more robust political engagement. In this book, she laid out plans to "transform the American political consciousness and encourage powerful citizen involvement to heal our society".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Healing-the-Soul-of-America-20th-Anniversary-Edition/Marianne-Williamson/9781982101565|title=Healing the Soul of America - 20th Anniversary Edition|website=Simon and Schuster}}</ref>


==Career==
She wrote in the book, <blockquote>It is a task of our generation to recreate the American ], to awaken from our culture of distraction and re-engage the process of democracy with soulfulness and hope. Yes, we see there are problems in the world. But we believe in a universal force that, when activated by the human heart, has the power to make all things right. Such is the divine authority of love: to renew the heart, renew the nations, and ultimately, renew the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/book-excerpt-healing-the-soul-of-america-by-marianne-williamson/all#ixzz5QRNlTT8a|title=How To Heal Yourself And The World Around You|website=Oprah.com}}</ref></blockquote>
]In 1979, Williamson returned to Houston, where she ran a ] bookstore coffee shop, sang ] in a ], got married and ]d "almost immediately", and underwent a "spiritual surrender".<ref name=People92/><ref name=LAMag/><ref name=WaPost>{{cite news|last=Leiby|first=Richard|title=Marianne Williamson, Hollywood self-help guru, wants to heal Washington|newspaper=Washington Post|url=http://mydailyrecord.com/stories/marianne-williamson-spreads-message-of-unity,4174|date=May 11, 2014|access-date=February 13, 2019|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429044606/http://mydailyrecord.com/stories/marianne-williamson-spreads-message-of-unity,4174|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Greensboro/>


In 1983, Williamson had what she has called a "flash" to close the coffee shop and move to ].<ref name=LAMag/> She got an apartment in ], where her roommate was 17-year-old ]. Dern has stated that Williamson "held prayer groups in our living room."<ref name=Elle/>
Patricia Holt of the '']'' called it "A huge and wondrous surprise.... ''The Healing of America'' somehow makes us proud to be Americans, because every hope for democracy seems newly within our grasp."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/BOOKS-The-Spiritual-Side-Of-U-S-Politics-2825611.php|title=BOOKS -- The Spiritual Side Of U.S. Politics / Williamson urges rethinking of roles|date=October 14, 1997|work=]}}</ref>


Williamson's teachings stemmed from an inspirational message: "Divine love is the core and essence of every human mind."<ref name=Keswick>{{cite news|last= Remsen|first= Jim|title=New Age Star Marianne Williamson Speaking at Keswick|newspaper=]|date=April 2, 2000}}</ref> She saw this message as a remedy to misinterpretations of ] that, through an emphasis on ] and guilt, could lead to ] (e.g., ], ], ]).<ref name=Keswick/><ref name=VanityFair/>
A 20th anniversary edition was published in 2018.


As word spread about "the young woman talking about a God who loves you, no matter what," she had to rent church space to accommodate the demand to hear her speak.<ref name="VanityFair" /><ref name="LAMag" /> In 1987, she began lecturing monthly in New York.<ref name="VanityFair" /> Eventually, she was invited to speak throughout the U.S. and Europe. Williamson did not charge for her lectures but had a "suggested donation" of $7 and a policy of not turning people away for lack of money.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=April 3, 1997 |title=GURU TO AMERICA? |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1997/04/03/guru-to-america/ |access-date=January 29, 2024 |website=Sun Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref> Williamson's style has been described as a "trendy amalgam of Christianity, ], ] and ] wisdom".<ref name="People92" /><ref name="LAMag" />
==== Television and media appearances====
She has been a guest on television programs such as '']'', '']'', and '']''. In December 2006, a '']'' magazine poll named her one of the 50 most influential baby boomers. She bases her teaching and writing on ''A Course in Miracles'', a nonreligious self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy, based on universal spiritual themes.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/marianne-williamson-on-whats-wrong-and-right-with-the-world-video |title= Marianne Williamson on What's Wrong—and Right—with the World |work= Oprah |date= December 29, 2012 |accessdate=February 8, 2018}}</ref>


=== Unity Church Pastor ===
==Social activism==
Williamson became the spiritual leader for the Church of Today, a ] in ], where she had 2,300 congregants and 50,000 television viewers.<ref name="DailyRecord" /> Her position also included administrative leadership; her actions as leader included booking ] ], expanding the bookstore, and increasing the congregation's racial and sexual orientation diversity. As a result, the Church grew rapidly.<ref name="Keswick" /><ref name="LAMag" /><ref name="Restored">{{cite news| first = Alex | last = Capeloto|title= Warren Church is restoring calm, in the name of Unity| work = ]|date= January 8, 2003}}</ref><ref name="Upheaval">{{cite news| first = Alex | last = Capeloto|title= Upheaval of church surprises members| work =Detroit Free Press |date=November 1, 2001}}</ref><ref name="Unrest">{{cite news| first = Alexa | last = Capeloto|title= Unrest lurks as Unity church faces changes| work =Detroit Free Press|date=November 4, 2002}}</ref>


Williamson resigned from the Church Renaissance Unity Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship{{clarify|date=June 2023}} in 2003. For a time, she lectured at Methodist, Episcopal and Unitarian churches.<ref name="The New York Times 2019">{{cite web | title=The Gospel According to Marianne Williamson | website=The New York Times | date=September 3, 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/magazine/marianne-williamson-2020.html | access-date=April 7, 2023 | archive-date=April 7, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407115239/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/magazine/marianne-williamson-2020.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
====HIV/AIDS advocacy====


=====Centers for Living===== === Author ===
] SuperSoul Conversations Podcast: Marianne Williamson – "A Return to Love"]]
In response to the HIV/AIDS crises in the 1980s, Williamson founded the Los Angeles and Manhattan Centers for Living, which served as a refuge and non-medical support for people with HIV/AIDS. There they could connect with a variety of psychological and emotional resources, as well as community of support. She has said of that time that "there was so much love, because there was nothing to hold onto but love."<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson Aims to Defeat Henry Waxman, and Save Washington's Soul |url=https://www.laweekly.com/news/marianne-williamson-aims-to-defeat-henry-waxman-and-save-washingtons-soul-4316162 |date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
Williamson has written 14 books {{as of|2019|lc=y}}. Seven have appeared on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list, with four reaching number one.<ref name="USAToday">{{cite web |last=Slater |first=Georgia |title=Life lessons from Marianne Williamson's books: Miracles, healing the soul and spirituality |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/07/01/marianne-williamson-books-return-to-love-self-help-spiritual-lessons/1618063001/ |date=July 1, 2019 |website=USA Today |access-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801002209/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/07/01/marianne-williamson-books-return-to-love-self-help-spiritual-lessons/1618063001/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Best Sellers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/06/books/best-sellers-september-6-1992.html|work=]|date=September 6, 1992|access-date=November 7, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215232736/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/06/books/best-sellers-september-6-1992.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|title=Best Sellers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/best-sellers-july-11-1993.html|work=]|date=July 11, 1993|access-date=November 6, 2018|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106133734/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/best-sellers-july-11-1993.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news|title=Best Sellers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/01/books/best-sellers-january-1-1995.html|work=]|date=January 1, 1995|access-date=November 7, 2018|archive-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410043757/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/01/books/best-sellers-january-1-1995.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite news|title=Best Sellers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/books/paperback-best-sellers-december-15-2002.html|work=]|date=December 15, 2002|access-date=November 7, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215233238/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/books/paperback-best-sellers-december-15-2002.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She has sold more than three million books.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, Hollywood self-help guru, wants to heal Washington |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/marianne-williamson-hollywood-self-help-guru-wants-to-heal-washington/2014/03/11/378b0d02-a85f-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html |newspaper=] |date=March 11, 2014 |access-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215225144/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/marianne-williamson-hollywood-self-help-guru-wants-to-heal-washington/2014/03/11/378b0d02-a85f-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


Williamson's most popular work is '']'' (1992). The book appeared on ] for 39 weeks in the "Advice, How To and Miscellaneous" category;<ref name="MotherJones">{{cite news |title=Faith: Marianne Williamson is Full of It |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1997/11/faith-marianne-williamson-full-it/2/ |issue=November/December 1997 |publisher=] |access-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224236/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1997/11/faith-marianne-williamson-full-it/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it teaches that practicing love every day will bring more peace and fulfillment to one's life. The following quotation is the most famous quotation from the book (it is often misattributed to ]):<ref name="Vox2">{{cite news|last=Grady|first=Constance|title=Why Marianne Williamson's most famous passage keeps getting cited as a Nelson Mandela quote|publisher=Vox Media|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/30/20699833/marianne-williamson-our-deepest-fear-nelson-mandela-return-to-love|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804040858/https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/7/30/20699833/marianne-williamson-our-deepest-fear-nelson-mandela-return-to-love|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mandela">{{cite news|last=Hallemann|first=Caroline|title=How Did a Quote by Marianne Williamson Get Misattributed to Nelson Mandela?|publisher=Yahoo! Lifestyle|url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/did-quote-marianne-williamson-misattributed-185700937.html|date=June 28, 2014|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812185222/https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/did-quote-marianne-williamson-misattributed-185700937.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{blockquote|Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.}}] said of the book, "I have never been more moved by a book than I am by this one."<ref name="Books">{{cite news |last=Slater |first=Georgia |date=July 1, 2019 |title=Life lessons from Marianne Williamson's books: Miracles, healing the soul and spirituality |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/07/01/marianne-williamson-books-return-to-love-self-help-spiritual-lessons/1618063001/ |access-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801002209/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/07/01/marianne-williamson-books-return-to-love-self-help-spiritual-lessons/1618063001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Winfrey bought 1,000 copies and encouraged her audience to purchase it, telling them that after reading it, she experienced 157 miracles.<ref name="CTOprah157">{{cite web |last1=Lavin |first1=Cheryl |title=Writer is Sold on Miracles as New Age Book Turns Into Pot of Gold |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-03-06-9201210428-story.html |access-date=August 1, 2019 |website=Chicago Tribune |date=March 6, 1992 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801064334/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-03-06-9201210428-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Williamson was a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and became Oprah's spiritual advisor.<ref name="Axios" />
=====Project Angel Food=====
In 1989, she launched ] to build off the work of the Centers for Living. Originally launched to support HIV/AIDS patients, Project Angel Food expanded its outreach and currently cooks and delivers more than 12,000 meals each week, free of charge, to the homes of men, women and children affected by various life-threatening illnesses.<ref>{{cite news |title=Project Angel Food's Angel Awards benefit, featuring Charo and Cheyenne Jackson, raises $650,000 | url=http://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-project-angel-food-angel-awards-20180820-htmlstory.html |work=] |date=August 20, 2018}}</ref> The organization's food and nutrition services, including medically tailored meals and nutritional counseling, help under-served people throughout Los Angeles County who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves. In 2017, Project Angel Food served its 11 millionth meal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Project Angel Food serves 11 millionth meal |url=http://www.losangelesblade.com/2017/11/28/project-angel-food-serves-11-millionth-meal/ |work=Los Angeles Blade |date=November 28, 2018}}</ref>


==Political campaigns ==
====Women's advocacy====
===2014 U.S. House of Representatives campaign===
She has worked on behalf of women's empowerment issues for decades. In 1993 she published her #1 NYT bestseller, ''A Woman’s Worth''.<ref>{{cite news |title=BEST SELLERS: July 11, 1993 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/11/books/best-sellers-july-11-1993.html |work=] |date=July 11, 1993}}</ref> '']'' said of the book: "Williamson gives sound, empowering advice on relationships, work, love, sex and childrearing."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Woman's Worth |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-679-42218-1 |work=]}}</ref>
]
]]]
In 2014, Williamson ran as an ] for ] in the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.kpcc.org/blogs/politics/2014/03/10/15975/marianne-williamson-invokes-better-angels-in-congr/|title=Marianne Williamson invokes 'better angels' in Congressional run|date=March 10, 2014|website=Southern California Public Radio|access-date=June 21, 2023|archive-date=June 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621015049/https://archive.kpcc.org/blogs/politics/2014/03/10/15975/marianne-williamson-invokes-better-angels-in-congr/|url-status=live}}</ref>


Prominent elected and public officials endorsed her campaign, including ]; former governors ] and ]; former representatives ] and ]; and ].<ref name=Integrity/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mwfc-timwayne.nationbuilder.com/endorsements|title=Endorsements|website=Marianne Williamson for Congress|access-date=November 6, 2018|archive-date=November 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107010118/http://mwfc-timwayne.nationbuilder.com/endorsements|url-status=live}}</ref> ] wrote and performed Williamson's ], "Today".<ref>{{cite news |title=Alanis Morissette cuts campaign song for Calif. candidate |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/205332-alanis-morissette-cuts-campaign-ad-for-long-shot-candidate/ |work=] |date=May 6, 2014 |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107104040/https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/205332-alanis-morissette-cuts-campaign-ad-for-long-shot-candidate |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2010, she launched a series of Sister Giant conferences, trainings, and events to support individuals – particularly women – who want to increase their efficacy as activists and/or run for office. On the initiative she has said, “I want to be a cheerleader for women who have never even considered running for office or being involved in a campaign, but who in the quietness of their hearts might think, ‘Why not me?’” The events have focused on how to better address many social issues, including: child poverty, low levels of female representation in office, campaign finance reform, high levels of mass incarceration, among other issues.<ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson_b_1759887|title=Gabrielle Bernstein Interviews Marianne Williamson: Sister Giant|work=Huffington Post|accessdate=October 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Sister Giant |url= http://sistergiant.com/history-of-sister-giant/}}</ref>


Williamson campaigned on ] such as campaign finance reform, women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, New-Age Guru, Seeks Congressional Seat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/us/politics/marianne-williamson-new-age-guru-seeks-congressional-seat.html |work=] |date=November 13, 2013 |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920141640/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/us/politics/marianne-williamson-new-age-guru-seeks-congressional-seat.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Issues |url=http://www.marianneforcongress.com:80/issues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226020125/http://www.marianneforcongress.com/issues |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 26, 2014 |website=Wayback Machine |access-date=April 10, 2019 }}</ref><ref name=LAWeek>{{cite news|last=Aron|first=Hillel|title=Marianne Williamson Aims to Defeat Henry Waxman, and Save Washington's Soul|url=https://www.laweekly.com/news/marianne-williamson-aims-to-defeat-henry-waxman-and-save-washingtons-soul-4316162|publisher=LA Weekly|date=January 16, 2014|access-date=November 6, 2018|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106094635/https://www.laweekly.com/news/marianne-williamson-aims-to-defeat-henry-waxman-and-save-washingtons-soul-4316162|url-status=live}}</ref> She raised $2.4 million, of which she personally contributed 25 percent.<ref name=Integrity/><ref name=CouldWin>{{cite news|last=Raktich|first=Nathaniel|title=How Marianne Williamson Could Win The 2020 Democratic Primary|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-marianne-williamson-could-win-the-2020-democratic-primary/|publisher=Five Thirty Eight|date=May 1, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=October 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007001021/https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-marianne-williamson-could-win-the-2020-democratic-primary/|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Peace-building====


Williamson finished fourth out of 18 candidates, with 14,335 votes or 13.2 percent of the vote. Republican ] finished first in the primary with 21.6 percent of the vote, but went on to lose the general election to Democrat ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, Hollywood's Favorite New Age Guru, Backs Bernie Sanders for President |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marianne-williamson-hollywoods-favorite-new-792820 |work=] |date=May 1, 2015 |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107010259/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marianne-williamson-hollywoods-favorite-new-792820 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2004, she co-founded The ], a nonprofit grassroots education and advocacy organization focused on increasing U.S. governmental support of peace-building approaches to domestic and international conflicts. She has said of the need for this work: "You don’t just wait until there is a violent eruption and then just try to throw people in jail or just wait until there is a violent eruption and then try to bomb an entire country, there’s just a limit past which this is not workable. Rather, you proactively seek to cultivate the conditions of peace...so we can have a much more sophisticated analysis of what it will take to create a more peaceful world."<ref>{{cite web |title=Marianne Williamson Department of Peace Interview |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My6BF8GZM2g}}</ref>


===2020 presidential campaign===
====Poverty alleviation====
{{Main|Marianne Williamson 2020 presidential campaign}}
For years Williamson was a member of the Board of Directors and remains a public supporter of ], an organization aiming to create the political will to end hunger and poverty around the world. It lobbies public officials, does research, and works with the media and the public to addresses the causal issues of poverty. RESULTS has 100 U.S. local chapters and works in six other countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Turning Compassion into a Political Force |url=https://www.results.org/events/IC_2012_Marianne_Williamson |website=Results.org}}</ref><ref name="Huffington Post"/>
On November 15, 2018, Williamson announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.<ref name="EC">{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Alex|title=Oprah pal and spirituality guru plans 2020 run|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/16/oprah-pal-williamson-2020-run-996174|work=Politico|date=November 16, 2018|access-date=March 1, 2019|archive-date=April 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404074546/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/16/oprah-pal-williamson-2020-run-996174|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 28, 2019, Williamson officially launched her presidential campaign before an audience of 2,000 people in ]. She appointed Maurice Daniel, who served alongside ] in ]'s campaign for the ], as her national campaign manager.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} Williamson's campaign committee, "Marianne Williamson for President", officially filed on February 4.<ref name="Kaji">{{cite news|last1=Kaji|first1=Mina|title=Marianne Williamson: Oprah confidant, author, spiritual teacher and presidential candidate|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-oprah-confidant-author-spiritual-teacher-presidential/story?id=60709204|publisher=ABC News|date=February 20, 2019|access-date=March 1, 2019|archive-date=August 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200826120945/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-oprah-confidant-author-spiritual-teacher-presidential/story?id=60709204|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FEC">{{cite web|title=FEC Form 2: Statement of Candidacy|url=http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/260/201902050300265260/201902050300265260.pdf|publisher=Federal Election Commission|date=February 4, 2019|access-date=March 2, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180152/http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/260/201902050300265260/201902050300265260.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>


As of May 1, Williamson had a campaign staff of 20. A week later, she announced she had received enough contributions from unique donors to enter the official primary debates. Her campaign had raised $1.5 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1500000|start_year=2019}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in the first quarter of 2019, during which it received donations from 46,663 unique individuals.<ref name=CouldWin/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Stewart|first1=Briana|title=Marianne Williamson's campaign says she's qualified for the first 2020 Democratic debate|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-shes-qualified-2020-democratic-debate/story?id=62814044|publisher=ABC News|date=May 9, 2019|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509182346/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-shes-qualified-2020-democratic-debate/story?id=62814044|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Schouten|first1=Fredreka|title=Author Marianne Williamson raised $1.5 million in presidential bid|url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/first-quarter-fundraising-totals-04-15-19/h_e674fccaa0259c30abe00ae82182a340|publisher=CNN|date=April 15, 2019|access-date=April 15, 2019|archive-date=April 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416020300/https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/first-quarter-fundraising-totals-04-15-19/h_e674fccaa0259c30abe00ae82182a340|url-status=live}}</ref> Williamson subsequently met the polling criteria, with three unique polls at one percent from qualifying pollsters, on May 23.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shepard|first1=Steven|last2=Montellaro|first2=Zach|title=Spirituality guru Marianne Williamson locks in 2020 debate spot|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/marianne-williamson-debates-2020-election-1341670|work=Politico|date=May 23, 2019|access-date=May 23, 2019|archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523161725/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/marianne-williamson-debates-2020-election-1341670|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Love America Tour====
Starting in the winter of 2018, she began touring the United States as part of her ''Love America Tour'', discussing how she believes "a revolution in consciousness paves the way to both personal and national renewal." Of the tour she said: "Our own disconnection from the political process, lack of knowledge of how our system operates, lack of understanding of our history, and confusion about many of the issues that confront us now, have led in too many cases to a dangerous emotional disconnection between our country and ourselves."<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson bringing her 'Love America' tour to Detroit |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/05/15/marianne-williamson-bringing-love-america-tour-detroit/610713002/ |work=] |date=May 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tour Dates |url=http://sistergiant.com/tour-dates/ |website=Sistergiant.com}}</ref>


In June, Williamson confirmed that she had moved to ], in advance of the 2020 caucuses.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Judd|first1=Donald|title=Marianne Williamson moves to Des Moines in bid for the Iowa caucuses|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/politics/marianne-williamson-moving-iowa-2020/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=June 6, 2019|access-date=June 7, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123210635/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/politics/marianne-williamson-moving-iowa-2020/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the ]'s proposed creation of "virtual caucuses" in the 2020 race, Williamson's campaign announced it would appoint 99 "Virtual Iowa Caucus Captains" (each assigned to a single county) to turn out supporters in both the virtual and in-person caucuses.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rynard|first1=Pat|title=Marianne Williamson Recruits "Virtual Captains" For Virtual Caucus|url=https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/28/marianne-williamson-recruits-virtual-captains-for-virtual-caucus/|publisher=Iowa Starting Line|date=February 28, 2019|access-date=February 28, 2019|archive-date=March 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302210339/https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/28/marianne-williamson-recruits-virtual-captains-for-virtual-caucus/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Political career==


Later that month, Williamson participated in the ]. The ''LA Times'' wrote that Democratic voters were "confused" and "transfixed" by Williamson, who declared that her first act as president would be to call New Zealand Prime Minister ] and say, "Girlfriend, you are so on", a reference to Ardern's emphasis on building a country that treats its children well.<ref>{{cite web |title='Girlfriend, you are so on': US presidential candidate Marianne Williamson's bizarre challenge to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12244989 |website=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en-NZ |date=June 28, 2019 |archive-date=August 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805205343/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12244989 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Greenspan |first1=Rachel E. |title=Marianne Williamson's Vibe at Thursday's Debate Was All Love. People Couldn't Get Enough |url=https://time.com/5616722/marianne-williamson-2020-democratic-debate/ |magazine=Time |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815183307/https://time.com/5616722/marianne-williamson-2020-democratic-debate/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Matt |last2=De La Fuente |first2=David |title=How the Dems Should Blow Up Their Debates |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/18/democrats-debates-2020-227365 |website=Politico Magazine |date=July 18, 2019 |access-date=August 16, 2019 |language=en |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724233838/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/18/democrats-debates-2020-227365 |url-status=live }}</ref> Williamson also received media attention for her closing remarks:<blockquote>In the closing moments of Thursday night’s Democratic debate, Marianne Williamson looked straight ahead and told the audience that her plan for her candidacy is to harness the country’s love. “Mr. President, if you’re listening,” she said, addressing Donald Trump directly, “you have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out. I am going to harness love for political purposes,” she continued, raising her eyebrows. “And sir, love will win.”<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/marianne-williamson-democratic-debate-bizarre-charm.html|title=The Bizarre Charm of Marianne Williamson|first=Shannon|last=Palus|journal=Slate|date=June 28, 2019|via=slate.com|access-date=June 21, 2023|archive-date=June 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621015910/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/marianne-williamson-democratic-debate-bizarre-charm.html|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>
====2014 U.S. House of Representatives campaign====
]
In 2014 Williamson ran, as an ], for the seat of ] in the ]. Regarding her motivation for running, she has said, "America has gone off the democratic rails. A toxic brew of shrinking civil liberties and expanded corporate influence are poisoning our democracy." Her core message was that "humanitarian values should replace economic values as the ordering principle of our civilization."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225002934/http://www.marianneforcongress.com/|title=Marianne Williamson for Congress|date=February 25, 2014|website=web.archive.org}}</ref>


On July 30, Williamson participated in the ]. She was the most Googled candidate in 49 of 50 states and received the fourth-most attention on X, then known as Twitter.<ref name="MostGoogled2cdDebate">{{cite web |title=Marianne Williamson Tops Google Searches of Candidates After Second Democratic Debate |website = ]|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marianne-williamson-googled-candidate-second-democratic-debate-1228204=referral |access-date=August 1, 2019}}</ref> The spike in searches was prompted by her reference to the ] and her assertion that President Trump was harnessing a "dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred," which she later described as ], ], ], ], ], and ] propelled by social media.<ref name=Megaphone/>
Prominent elected and public officials endorsed her campaign, including former Governors ] and ]; former Congressmembers ] and ]; and ], among others.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marianne Williamson |url=http://mwfc-timwayne.nationbuilder.com/endorsements}}</ref> ] wrote and performed Williamson's ], "Today".<ref>{{cite news |title=Alanis Morissette cuts campaign song for Calif. candidate |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/205332-alanis-morissette-cuts-campaign-ad-for-long-shot-candidate |work=] |date=May 6, 2014}}</ref>


On the day of the third DNC debate, for which she did not qualify, Williamson did an interview with ] and expressed further frustration with the media ]. Among her unscripted comments was "what does it say that Fox News is nicer to me than the lefties are?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/461264-marianne-williamson-clarifies-hot-mic-moment/|title=Marianne Williamson clarifies hot mic moment|first=John|last=Bowden|newspaper=The Hill|date=September 13, 2019|access-date=September 14, 2019|archive-date=September 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913215708/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/461264-marianne-williamson-clarifies-hot-mic-moment|url-status=live}}</ref>
She campaigned on a broad array of progressive issues, including: greater access to high-quality education and free college; child poverty; economic justice; climate change & renewable energy; campaign finance reform; universal health care; criminal justice reform; ending perpetual war and increasing investments in peacebuilding; women’s reproductive rights; and LGBTQ equality among others.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, New-Age Guru, Seeks Congressional Seat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/us/politics/marianne-williamson-new-age-guru-seeks-congressional-seat.html |work=] |date=November 13, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Issues |url=http://www.marianneforcongress.com:80/issues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226020125/http://www.marianneforcongress.com/issues |dead-url=yes |archive-date=February 26, 2014 |website=Wayback Machine |access-date=April 10, 2019 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson Aims to Defeat Henry Waxman, and Save Washington's Soul |url=https://www.laweekly.com/news/marianne-williamson-aims-to-defeat-henry-waxman-and-save-washingtons-soul-4316162 |work=] |date=January 16, 2014}}</ref>


On January 10, 2020, Williamson announced the end of her campaign and pledged to support the Democratic nominee.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Democrat-Marianne-Williamson-suspends-her-14965403.php|title=Democrat Marianne Williamson suspends her presidential campaign|publisher=Connecticut Post|date=January 10, 2019|access-date=January 10, 2019|archive-date=November 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105221548/https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Democrat-Marianne-Williamson-suspends-her-14965403.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
She finished fourth out of 16 candidates,<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson, Hollywood's Favorite New Age Guru, Backs Bernie Sanders for President |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marianne-williamson-hollywoods-favorite-new-792820 |work=] |date=May 1, 2015}}</ref> with 14,335 votes for 13.2% of the vote. Williamson said of the process and its outcome: "This conversation of a politics of conscience, a politics of the heart, is much bigger than any one woman winning a congressional seat. And if that woman loses, the conversation goes on. My losing the congressional seat is small; what’s big is the larger conversation ... you impact the ethers, and that energy goes somewhere."<ref>{{cite web |title=Oprah to Marianne Williamson: 'How Important Was the Win for You?' |url=http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/oprah-to-marianne-williamson-how-important-was-the-win-video#ixzz5W1Tzz8SN |website=Oprah.com |accessdate=November 2, 2014}}</ref>


Many pundits treated Williamson's brief campaign as comic relief, often characterizing her as a ] due to her unconventional approach and spiritual rhetoric.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/28/here-are-some-true-maybe-true-statements-about-marianne-williamson/|first=Alexandra|last=Petri|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 28, 2019|title=Here are some true{{snd}}and maybe true{{snd}}statements about Marianne Williamson|access-date=October 30, 2020|archive-date=November 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104092553/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/28/here-are-some-true-maybe-true-statements-about-marianne-williamson/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, some found her message persuasive and influential. After the July 30, 2019, Democratic debate, '']'' columnist ] wrote, "It feels insane to say this, but Williamson out-debated virtually everyone else on the stage. She gave a compelling answer on reparations and returned again and again to the most important issue for Democratic voters, beating Trump."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/31/opinion/debate-winners-losers.html|title=Winners and Losers of the Democratic Debate|date=July 31, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 30, 2020|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106202402/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/31/opinion/debate-winners-losers.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
====2020 presidential campaign====
{{main|Marianne Williamson 2020 presidential campaign}}
]
On November 15, 2018, Williamson announced that she was forming an ] for a presidential run.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marianne Williamson on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1063229938679996417 |website=Twitter |language=en|quote=Announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for a presidential run in 2020. From my heart to yours...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Alex |date=November 16, 2018 |title=Oprah pal and spirituality guru plans 2020 run |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/16/oprah-pal-williamson-2020-run-996174 |work=]}}</ref> On January 28, 2019, she formally declared her ] for the Democratic nomination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://marianneforamerica.com/|title=Marianne Williamson for America|website=Marianne Williamson for America}}</ref>


===2024 presidential campaign===
On May 9, 2019, Williamson's campaign announced that she had received campaign donations from 65,000 unique donors, which will qualify her for the first two Democratic debates unless at least 20 other candidates are polling above 1% support and she is not.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marianne Williamson's campaign says she's qualified for the first 2020 Democratic debate |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/marianne-williamson-shes-qualified-2020-democratic-debate/story?id=62814044 |website=ABC News |language=en|quote=Spiritual-guru, best-selling author and 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has reached the threshold needed to qualify for the Democratic debates set for late June, according to her campaign.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/heres-how-the-democrats-will-limit-the-debate-field-if-too-many-people-qualify/|title=Here’s How The Democrats Will Limit The Debate Field If Too Many People Qualify|last=Skelley|first=Geoffrey|date=2019-05-10|website=FiveThirtyEight|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-12}}</ref>
{{main|Marianne Williamson 2024 presidential campaign}}
====Political positions====
]
While emphasizing that politics needs more than external remedies, Williamson has stated that she agrees with many of the positions of ] and ].<ref name="cfr">{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/campaign-2020-marianne-williamson-democratic-presidential-candidate|title=Marianne Williamson, Democratic Presidential Candidate|first=James|last=Lindsay|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|date=2019-02-19|accessdate=2019-03-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hains |first1=Tim |title=Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson Calls For 'Moral And Spiritual Awakening' In The U.S. |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/01/31/presidential_candidate_marianne_williamson_calls_for_moral_awakening_in_the_us.html |accessdate=March 3, 2019 |work=] |date=January 31, 2019}}</ref> These include ] and a ]. She has also spoken favorably of ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rynard|first1=Pat|title=Love, Reparations, And Fighting Back: A Marianne Williamson Iowa Tour|url=https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/03/love-reparations-and-fighting-back-a-marianne-williamson-iowa-tour/|publisher=Iowa Starting Line|date=February 3, 2019|accessdate=March 1, 2019}}</ref>
Williamson began "working on putting a machine together" to run for president in 2024, visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire in early 2023.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=NBC News|title=Marianne Williamson eyeing another run for president|date=January 26, 2023|first=Micki|last=Fahner|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/marianne-williamson-eyeing-another-run-president-rcna67733|access-date=January 31, 2023|archive-date=January 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131142840/https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/marianne-williamson-eyeing-another-run-president-rcna67733|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 23, 2023, she confirmed that she would launch a run for president in the future.<ref name="foxfeb23">{{Cite web |author1=Paul Steinhauser |author2=Andrea Vacchiano |date=February 17, 2023 |title=Biden draws first Democratic challenger for 2024 as Marianne Williamson confirms plans to launch bid |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-draws-first-democratic-challenger-2024-marianne-williamson-confirms-plans-launch-bid |access-date=May 15, 2023 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=September 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903183047/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-draws-first-democratic-challenger-2024-marianne-williamson-confirms-plans-launch-bid |url-status=live }}</ref> She started her 2024 campaign on March 4, 2023.<ref name=sdutmar4>{{cite news |last1=Weissert |first1=Will |title=Marianne Williamson opens long shot 2024 challenge to Biden |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/story/2023-03-04/marianne-williamson-opens-long-shot-2024-challenge-to-biden |access-date=May 15, 2023 |work=] |agency=] |date=March 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305080957/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/story/2023-03-04/marianne-williamson-opens-long-shot-2024-challenge-to-biden |url-status=live }}</ref>


Williamson's 2024 deputy campaign manager, Jason Call, departed from her team on May 20, 2023, a week after her campaign manager, ], had announced similar intentions. The two gave substantially different reasons for their actions than did the campaign.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529181406/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/22/marianne-williamson-loses-top-two-campaign-officials-in-a-matter-of-days-00098194 |date=May 29, 2023 }}, ''Politico'', Brittany Gibson, May 22, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.</ref> Earlier in 2023, a dozen former staffers from her 2020 campaign, who remained anonymous due to having signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), described working for Williamson as "toxic," "traumatic," and "terrifying". Williamson has been accused of throwing phones and shouting at staff so intensely they were reduced to tears. According to one account, her anger over logistics in South Carolina led her to strike a car repeatedly to the extent that she had to receive medical attention for a swollen hand.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529144359/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/16/marianne-williamson-abusive-treatment-2020-campaign-staff-00087268 |date=May 29, 2023 }}, ''Politico'', Lauren Egan, March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.</ref> Williamson has denied the phone-throwing charge, admitted to the car incident, and acknowledged that she may have room for personal growth.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64984303|title=Marianne Williamson responds to Politico article alleging abuse toward staff|work=BBC News|date=March 16, 2023|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=June 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617215414/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64984303|url-status=live}}</ref>
=====Racial reconciliation=====
Williamson has been a public advocate in the arenas of racial justice and race relations. She is known for leading public apologies for slavery and has encouraged paying ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Marianne Williamson asked white people to apologize. She got it right. |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/How-to-heal-racism-It-starts-with-an-apology-12510316.php |work=] |date=January 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why we need both a national apology and reparations to heal the wounds of racism |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/04/04/why-we-need-both-a-national-apology-and-reparations-to-heal-the-wounds-of-racism/?noredirect=on |work=] |date=April 4, 2018}}</ref> She has also worked in support of reforming the criminal justice system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Race and Repentance in America |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianne-williamson/race-repentance-and-repar_b_5689876.html |website=Huffington Post |accessdate=August 8, 2014}}</ref>


More staff left Williamson's team in June 2023, including her new campaign manager.<ref name="GibsonJune23">{{cite news |last=Gibson |first=Brittany |date=June 20, 2023 |title=Marianne Williamson loses second campaign manager in two months: Other staff departures have also been rampant. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/20/marianne-williamson-campaign-manager-00102692 |work=Politico |access-date=June 20, 2023 |archive-date=June 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620201357/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/20/marianne-williamson-campaign-manager-00102692 |url-status=live }}</ref>
=====Climate change=====
Williamson's campaign announcement included the line "let's talk about what it would actually mean to fight climate change".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsgrowl.com/marianne-williamson-running-president/|title=Marianne Williamson announces 2020 presidential bid|first=Patricia|last=McConnell|publisher=News Growl|date=2019-01-29|accessdate=2019-03-02}}</ref> She later expressed support for the ]. Among her goals are to enter the United States back into the ] and reform the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/climate-change|title=Getting our environmental policy back on track|publisher=Marianne 2020|accessdate=2019-03-02}}</ref> In late 2018, she participated in a panel discussion on the environment with ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abchome.com/reveal/newsitems/integrative-politics-marianne-williamson-special-guest-eric-schneiderman-last-years-challenges-tomorrows-opportunities/|title=Integrative Politics with Marianne Williamson & special guest Gary Hirshberg|publisher=ABC Home|year=2018|accessdate=2019-03-02}}</ref>


In July 2023, '']'' reported that Williamson had contributed $220,000 to her own campaign and that the campaign's most recent financial disclosure showed $270,000 in unpaid debts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/marianne-williamson-campaign-debt-00106487|title=Marianne Williamson campaign is deep in debt|first=Brittany|last=Gibson|date=July 15, 2023|website=]|access-date=August 10, 2023|archive-date=August 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809192627/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/15/marianne-williamson-campaign-debt-00106487|url-status=live}}</ref>
=====Foreign policy=====
Williamson is a life-long ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opednews.com/articles/Marianne-Williamson-s-Camp-by-Mike-Rivage-Seul-Campaign-2016_Christianity_Consciousness--Enlightenment_Critical-Thinking-190227-977.html|title=Marianne Williamson's Campaign Harnesses the Miraculous Power of Critical Consciousness|website=OpEdNews}}</ref> She has condemned the ] and would favor an embargo on American arms being sold to the Saudis.<ref name="cfr" /> She has also stated that the U.S. needs to be an "honest broker" in the ].<ref name="Axios">{{cite news|last1=Yadidi|first=Noa|title=Marianne Williamson: Everything you need to know about the 2020 candidate|url=https://www.axios.com/marianne-williamson-2020-presidential-election-candidate-factsheet-11e39a17-4437-4049-9479-daabdbd46d35.html|publisher=Axios|date=February 28, 2019|accessdate=March 1, 2019}}</ref> In a question period, Williamson expressed uncertainty over whether to end ], weighing her obligation to the troops against the need to liberate Afghan women from the ].<ref name="WaPoMag">{{cite news|last1=Peele|first1=Anna|title=Marianne Williamson Wants to Be Your Healer in Chief|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/02/19/feature/self-help-author-marianne-williamson-wants-to-be-your-healer-in-chief/|newspaper=The Washington Post Magazine|date=February 19, 2019|accessdate=March 1, 2019}}</ref>


She received 4% of the votes in the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Hampshire presidential primary results |url=https://apnews.com/hub/ap-new-hampshire-election-2024-results |access-date=February 4, 2024 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> Following the New Hampshire primary, she held a volunteer ] meeting where she announced a tentative decision to drop out of the race, but after the call was leaked to the ] account OrganizerMemes, she decided to stay in, but she dropped out after receiving only 2.1% of the vote in the ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Carolina Democratic Primary Election Results 2024: Joe Biden wins |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/south-carolina-president-results |access-date=February 4, 2024 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> and 2.9% of the vote in the ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nevada Presidential Primary Live Election Results 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/nevada-president-results |access-date=February 8, 2024 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> with no delegates.<ref name = GibsonFeb24>{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Brittany |date=February 7, 2024 |title=Marianne Williamson ends her 2024 presidential run |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/07/marianne-williamson-drops-out-2024-00140297 |access-date=February 8, 2024 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> After the ], Williamson decided to reenter the race when she received 3% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marianne Williamson says she is 'unsuspending' her longshot presidential campaign |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/02/28/marianne-williamson-unsuspending-campaign/72771674007/ |last=Garrison|first=Joey|access-date=March 5, 2024|date=February 28, 2024 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Williamson was briefly married.<ref name="latimes92" /> In 1990, she gave birth to a daughter, India Emma.<ref>{{cite web |title=The New Age of Marianne Williamson Los Angeles Magazine |url=https://www.lamag.com/longform/the-new-age-of-marianne-williamson/2/ |website=Los Angeles Magazine |date=May 27, 2014}}</ref>


Williamson received approximately 500,000 votes in the primary. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7-T4dHMIcC/?igsh=MWxzcno0eDQ1d3cyOA== |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref>
==Bibliography==

* ''], First Edition 1992'' ({{ISBN|9780060927486}})
Williamson ended her campaign on June 11, 2024.<ref name=abcjune12/> She re-entered the race on July 2, 2024.<ref name="hilljuly2"/> Williamson also expressed interest in an open convention after President Biden had announced he was dropping out of the race. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Vigdor |first=Neil |date=July 2, 2024 |title=Marianne Williamson Calls for Open Convention to Decide Democratic Nomination |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/us/politics/marianne-williamson-biden-democratic-nomination.html |website=New York Times}}</ref> On July 29, 2024, she ended her campaign for the final time.<ref name="yahoojuly29" />
* ''Imagine What America Could Be in the 21st Century: Visions of a Better Future from Leading American Thinkers'' ({{ISBN|0451204697}})

* ''Emma & Mommy Talk to God'' ({{ISBN|9780060799267}})
===2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship campaign===
* ''Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voices as Spiritual Citizens'' ({{ISBN|9780684846224}})
{{see further|2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election}}
* ''A Woman's Worth'' ({{ISBN|9780345386571}})

* ''Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power of Intimate Relationships'' ({{ISBN|9780684870250}})
On December 26, 2024, Williamson announced her candidacy in the election of the ] chairperson.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Millman |first1=Andrew |title=Marianne Williamson announces run for DNC chair {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/26/politics/marianne-williamson-dnc-chair/index.html |website=CNN |language=en |date=26 December 2024}}</ref>
* ''Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, And Making Miracles'' ({{ISBN|9781573223515}})

* ''Illuminata: A Return to Prayer'' ({{ISBN|9781573225205}})
==Political positions==
* ''The Gift of Change'' ({{ISBN|0060816112}})
=== Abortion rights ===
* ''The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money and Miracles'' ({{ISBN|0062205412}})
As a candidate for 2024 U.S. President, Williamson has stated her strong support for abortion access, services, and choice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/how-marianne-williamson-rfk-jr-compare-biden-6-key-issues-1800139|title=How Marianne Williamson, RFK Jr. compare to Biden on 6 key issues|first=Andrew|last=Stanton|date=May 15, 2023|website=Newsweek|access-date=June 17, 2023|archive-date=June 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617153027/https://www.newsweek.com/how-marianne-williamson-rfk-jr-compare-biden-6-key-issues-1800139|url-status=live}}</ref> She has spoken in favor of the abortion rights that were guaranteed under the now-overturned 1973 Supreme Court decision in '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/presidential-candidates-tracker|title=Tracking the 2024 presidential candidates|website=www.nbcnews.com|access-date=August 9, 2023|archive-date=August 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808151225/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/presidential-candidates-tracker|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever'' ({{ISBN|1401921531}})

* ''Tears to Triumph: The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment'' ({{ISBN|9780062205445}})
Williamson has shared her belief that it is good to expand women's understanding of alternatives; however, eradicating or limiting women's options would not reduce the number of terminations sought. Instead, it would result in wealthier women having access to safe abortions while poorer women face risks to their health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reproductive Rights and Justice Statement |url=https://marianne2024.com/issues/reproductive-justice/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Marianne 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''A Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New American Revolution'' ({{ISBN|0062873938}})

=== Black American reparations ===
Williamson supports the distribution of $200-$500 billion in ], spread across 20 years for "economic and education projects", to be disbursed based on the recommendation of a selected group of black leaders.<ref name=M2020Reconcile>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/racial-reconciliation-and-healing|title=The Issues: Racial Reconciliation & Healing|website=Marianne 2020|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812151518/https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/racial-reconciliation-and-healing|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WhosRunning>{{cite news|last1=Burns|first1=Alexander|last2=Flegenheimer|first2=Matt|last3=Lee|first3=Jasmine C.|last4=Lerer|first4=Lisa|last5=Martin|first5=Jonathan|title=Who's Running for President in 2020?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 21, 2019|access-date=June 20, 2019|archive-date=February 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219132542/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-presidential-candidates.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Perception>{{cite news|last=Wang|first=Esther|title=Marianne Williamson Wants Your Perception to Shift|url=https://theslot.jezebel.com/marianne-williamson-wants-your-perception-to-shift-1833666373|publisher=Jezebel|date=March 29, 2019|access-date=April 9, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330224121/https://theslot.jezebel.com/marianne-williamson-wants-your-perception-to-shift-1833666373|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate change and energy ===
Williamson deems ] to be "the greatest moral challenge of our generation." She claimed support for the ], immediate re-entry into the ], and has stated that she would be willing to support the ] if it included greater protections for workers and the environment.<ref name=CFR>{{cite web|title=Candidates Answer CFR's Questions: Marianne Williamson|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|url=https://www.cfr.org/article/marianne-williamson|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816213817/https://www.cfr.org/article/marianne-williamson|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=M2020Climate>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/climate-change|title=The Issues: Climate Change|website=Marianne 2020|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812151521/https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/climate-change|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |people=Woodruff, Judy |title=Why Marianne Williamson thinks she can defeat Trump |medium=Video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr-57LiBo-8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/mr-57LiBo-8 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|website=] |via=]|date=June 6, 2019 |time=3:30 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Williamson also supports the U.S. directing subsidies from ]s, including coal, and re-investing them in the development of ], both in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in developing countries.<ref name=CFR/>

=== Gun control ===
Williamson supports gun control, and has described the issue as one personal to her. On November 4, 2018, she gave a keynote address to several hundred Muslim and Jewish women at the Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom conference in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, eight days after 11 Jewish people were murdered at Pittsburgh's ] synagogue. A Jewish woman, she argued against fear being used as a political force and advocated for love in its place.<ref name=JTA/>

=== Health care and vaccinations ===
Williamson supports ] under a "] type of plan".<ref name="Axios">{{cite news|last1=Yadidi|first1=Noa|title=Marianne Williamson: Everything you need to know about the 2020 candidate|url=https://www.axios.com/marianne-williamson-2020-presidential-election-candidate-factsheet-11e39a17-4437-4049-9479-daabdbd46d35.html|website=]|date=February 28, 2019|access-date=March 1, 2019|archive-date=February 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228212940/https://www.axios.com/marianne-williamson-2020-presidential-election-candidate-factsheet-11e39a17-4437-4049-9479-daabdbd46d35.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Williamson also supports independent regulation of the ] to prevent what she has called "predatory practices".<ref name="Melber">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7r_A6k_eMo |title=2020 Dem Marianne Williamson Addresses Vaccination Controversy: Ari Melber |date=June 20, 2019 |publisher=MSNBC |time=3m55s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/e7r_A6k_eMo |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

A "both-and" approach (both prayer and medicine) to physical and mental health has been attributed to Williamson.<ref name=GayDivide/> Williamson has said, "People who are prayed for get out of the emergency room faster," and "people who have been diagnosed with a life-challenging illness, who attend spiritual support groups, live, on average, twice as long after diagnosis".<ref name=LATimes92/><ref name="Maher2015">{{cite video|date=February 6, 2015 |title=Real Time with Bill Maher: Vaccination|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7yvI0tu3Ho |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/B7yvI0tu3Ho |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=HBO|time=6m34s}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=PowerToHeal>{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Darla|title=Does prayer have the power to heal?|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/07/power-of-prayer/70943182/|date=May 7, 2015|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818211607/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/07/power-of-prayer/70943182/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Williamson has stated her support for the necessity and value of vaccinations and ],<ref name="Noah">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTO-BsdRO1w |title=Marianne Williamson – Running for President on a Morality-Driven Platform: The Daily Show |date=August 11, 2019 |publisher=Comedy Central |time=8m54s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/oTO-BsdRO1w |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=Cooper/> but has been criticized for her skepticism about the ] influence in setting guidelines for how they are administered, citing her belief that their profit motive could result in harm to patients.<ref name="Four">{{cite news|last=Hampton|first=Rochelle|title=Four Marianne Williamson Supporters on Why They Think She'd Be a Good President|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/marianne-williamson-supporters-president-2020-why.html|magazine=Slate|date=August 2, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816161948/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/marianne-williamson-supporters-president-2020-why.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Supporters">{{cite news|last=Joseph|first=Cameron|title=Marianne Williamson Knows You Think She's a Joke. But Her Campaign Isn't.|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmp7mw/marianne-williamson-knows-you-think-shes-a-joke-but-her-campaign-isnt|publisher=Vice|date=July 1, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816214027/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmp7mw/marianne-williamson-knows-you-think-shes-a-joke-but-her-campaign-isnt|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BigPharma">{{cite news|last=Ginsburg|first=Merle|title=Marianne Williamson Doesn't Mistrust Vaccines, Just "Big Pharma"|url=https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/marianne-williamson-vaccines/|magazine=]|date=June 21, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=July 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701195722/https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/marianne-williamson-vaccines/|url-status=live}}</ref>

She has also criticized ] of antidepressants,<ref name="Melber" /><ref name="Maher2">{{cite video|date=August 2, 2019|title=Real Time with Bill Maher: Marianne Williamson|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tkKdo1myY|publisher=HBO|time=6m34s|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815224504/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tkKdo1myY|url-status=live}}</ref> questioning whether antidepressants play a role in suicide, saying that the prescriptive definition between ] and ] is "artificial", and having called ] "a scam".<ref name="Careful">{{cite news|last=Astor|first=Maggie|title='I Should Be More Careful With Twitter': Marianne Williamson on Those Mental Health Comments|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/us/politics/marianne-williamson-mental-health.html|work=]|date=July 27, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807201351/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/us/politics/marianne-williamson-mental-health.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cooper" />

During Williamson's presidential campaign, several excerpts of her past comments have ] her skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry's trustworthiness with an embrace of ] dogma. As a result, she has been accused of being "anti-medicine" and "anti-science". She denies such accusations, saying they "could not be further from the truth."<ref name="Magical">{{cite news|last=Saraiya|first=Sonia|title="No One Decides to Run for President Impulsively": Marianne Williamson Explains Her Magical Thinking|publisher=]|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/marianne-williamson-interview|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813161528/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/marianne-williamson-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> Williamson has expressed frustration that her skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry has been equated with skepticism of the science of vaccines.<ref name="Melber"/><ref name="GayDivide"/><ref name="Megaphone"/><ref name="Noah"/><ref name="Cooper"/><ref name="Tweet2">{{cite web|last=Williamson|first=Marianne|title=Misrepresentations of my work are in high gear this morning...|url=https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1151534770104365057|publisher=Twitter|date=July 17, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815074945/https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1151534770104365057|url-status=live}}</ref> She has said, "Skeptical about vaccinations I have not expressed. Skeptical about ] in general I have expressed. And there is a big difference."<ref name="Megaphone" />

=== Immigration ===
Williamson does not support open borders, but calls for what she describes as a more humane approach to border policy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Extending border barrier: Where 2020 Democrats stand |language=en |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/immigration/us-mexico-border-wall/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319043417/https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/immigration/us-mexico-border-wall/ |archive-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> In June 2019, Williamson criticized then-President ] on his ] after reports of children being separated from their families and being put in a detainment center; she called these acts "state-sponsored crimes".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrow |first=Brendan |date=June 27, 2019 |title=Marianne Williamson rips Trump for 'state-sponsored crimes' at the border |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/849850/marianne-williamson-rips-trump-statesponsored-crimes-border |access-date=February 11, 2021 |website=The Week |language=en |archive-date=September 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924071823/https://theweek.com/speedreads/849850/marianne-williamson-rips-trump-statesponsored-crimes-border |url-status=live }}</ref> After Trump's announcement that ] would begin mass-deportations, she said it is "no different" than what Jewish people faced in ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gstalter |first=Morgan |date=June 20, 2019 |title=2020 Democrat Marianne Williamson: Trump's ICE raids 'no different' than what Jews faced in Nazi Germany |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449463-2020-dem-marianne-williamson-trumps-ice-raids-no-different-than-jews/ |access-date=February 11, 2021 |website=The Hill |language=en |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115191049/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449463-2020-dem-marianne-williamson-trumps-ice-raids-no-different-than-jews |url-status=live }}</ref>

Williamson also supports ] (DACA) and expanding protections and naturalization to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, regardless of their current age.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A voter's guide to DACA: Compare where all the 2020 candidates stand|url=https://politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/immigration-reform/daca/|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=politico.com|date=November 21, 2019|language=en|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126030521/https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/immigration-reform/daca/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Other domestic issues ===
Williamson supports ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=At LGBTQ Forum, Marianne Williamson Responds to Her History With AIDS |url=https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/lgbtq-forum-marianne-williamson-responds-her-history-aids |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617213639/https://www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/20/lgbtq-forum-marianne-williamson-responds-her-history-aids |archive-date=June 17, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |website=www.advocate.com}}</ref> and an increase of the ] to $15 per hour,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rynard |first1=Pat |date=February 3, 2019 |title=Love, Reparations, And Fighting Back: A Marianne Williamson Iowa Tour |publisher=Iowa Starting Line |url=https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/03/love-reparations-and-fighting-back-a-marianne-williamson-iowa-tour/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302210324/https://iowastartingline.com/2019/02/03/love-reparations-and-fighting-back-a-marianne-williamson-iowa-tour/ |archive-date=March 2, 2019}}</ref> and has called religion a map in which "the route isn't important. It's the destination that matters."<ref name="NeedHer">{{cite web |author=Simon Sebag Montefiore |date=July 1, 1992 |title=Marianne Williamson: Who Is She & Why Do We Need Her Now? |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199207/marianne-williamson-who-is-she-why-do-we-need-her-now |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026083524/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199207/marianne-williamson-who-is-she-why-do-we-need-her-now |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |access-date=August 18, 2019 |website=Psychology Today}}</ref>

=== International relations and national security ===
Williamson supports the creation of a ] to aid in her proposed redesign, which also includes a plan to establish a Peace Academy modeled after military academies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miskimen|first=Gage|title=Marianne Williamson releases plan for a Department of Peace, includes 'Peace Academy' proposal|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/08/19/marianne-williamson-unveils-department-peace-plan-includes-peace-academy-proposal-2020-elections/2049803001/|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=Des Moines Register|language=en-US|archive-date=October 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026083429/https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/08/19/marianne-williamson-unveils-department-peace-plan-includes-peace-academy-proposal-2020-elections/2049803001/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Williamson supports military engagement when a NATO ally is threatened, when the United States is under threat of attack, or "when the humanitarian order of the world is at risk".<ref name=Megaphone>{{cite interview|last=Williamson|first=Marianne|others= Joe Garofoli|title=It's All Political: Marianne Williamson Comes Down to Earth|publisher=]|location=San Francisco, CA|date=August 15, 2019}}</ref>

Williamson supported safe ] as soon as possible and would consider the use of a peace-keeping force, such as the ], to assist with the transition.<ref name=CFR/> Williamson has said she supports the U.S. vigorously using its position, i.e., through ], to prevent China from buying strategically important companies, which she believes will help defend U.S. economic interests and human rights, as in the cases of the ] and ].<ref name=CFR/> Williamson supports rejoining the ] (JCPOA).<ref name=CFR/> Williamson criticized the Trump administration for ] with Iran.<ref name="foreign-policy">{{cite news |title=Election 2020{{snd}}The Democratic candidates on foreign policy |work=] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020-election/ |access-date=October 21, 2019 |archive-date=August 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826082818/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020-election/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Williamson supports a ] to the ].<ref name=CFR/><ref name="Axios"/>

==Public image==
]
Williamson has been referred to as a "] guru".<ref name="NYTimesMag">{{cite news|last=Leibovich|first=Mark|title=The Real House Candidates of Beverly Hills|newspaper=New York Times Magazine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/magazine/the-real-house-candidates-of-beverly-hills.html|date=April 24, 2014|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816214024/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/magazine/the-real-house-candidates-of-beverly-hills.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The label has been associated with her for years, but she has long rejected such terms, calling them "outrageous".<ref name="WaPost" /><ref name="LAWeek" /><ref name=":4" /> She has stated that she prefers to be called an author.<ref name="LAWeek" /><ref name="NYTimesMag" /><ref name="Oracle">{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=John|title=Marianne Williamson: A New Age Oracle Comes Down to Earth|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=May 20, 1993}}</ref>

In the context of her political campaigns, Williamson's image has polarized many, with some praising her as authentic and eloquent, while others have criticized her for lacking seriousness.<ref name="Vox">{{cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=July 31, 2019 |title=Marianne Williamson isn't funny. She's scary. |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/31/20748594/marianne-williamson-debate-democratic-july-2019-depression |website=] |publisher=] |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816210830/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/31/20748594/marianne-williamson-debate-democratic-july-2019-depression |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Salon">{{cite web |author=Stevens |first=Ashlie |date=June 28, 2019 |title="Marianne Williamson for Secretary of Crystals": The bonkers break-out character of NBC's debates |url=https://www.salon.com/2019/06/28/marianne-williamson-for-secretary-of-crystals-the-bonkers-break-out-character-of-nbcs-debates/ |website=] |publisher= |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817095027/https://www.salon.com/2019/06/28/marianne-williamson-for-secretary-of-crystals-the-bonkers-break-out-character-of-nbcs-debates/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Her performance during the ] received praise from a number of politicians, such as ] ] and ], and media outlets like '']'', for providing "surprisingly eloquent" and "meaningful" answers to questions on social issues.<ref name="Vox" /> Others have criticized her responses, including a writer for '']'' who called her answers "extremely vague" and "deeply weird",<ref name="Vox" /> and a writer for '']'' who called her answers "kooky".<ref name="Salon" /> Williamson's unorthodox style led to a large response across social media platforms such as ], where she was the subject of various jokes and ]s.<ref name="Salon" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Murdoch |first=Cassie |date=June 28, 2019 |title=Marianne Williamson's oddball debate answers have made her into a meme |url=https://mashable.com/article/marianne-williamson-debate-reaction-memes |access-date=August 12, 2023 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026083431/https://mashable.com/article/marianne-williamson-debate-reaction-memes |url-status=live }}</ref>

She made headlines when she criticized '']'' for its "insidious influence" when it did not include her in an ] photo shoot of the 2020 female presidential candidates.<ref name="Vogue">{{cite web|last=Chozixk|first=Amy|title=Madam President? Five Candidates on What It Will Take to Shatter the Most Stubborn Glass Ceiling|magazine=]|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/democratic-women-female-candidates-interview?verso=true|date=July 1, 2019|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816214215/https://www.vogue.com/article/democratic-women-female-candidates-interview?verso=true|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Omit">{{cite web|last=Russo|first=Amy|title=Marianne Williamson Rips Vogue For Leaving Her Out Of 2020 Candidate Photo Shoot|work=Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson-vogue-presidential-candidate-photo-shoot_n_5d1ccc61e4b04c48140daa2e|date=July 3, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814181317/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson-vogue-presidential-candidate-photo-shoot_n_5d1ccc61e4b04c48140daa2e|url-status=live}}</ref> The magazine responded that it only wanted "to highlight the five female lawmakers who bring a collective 40 years of political experience to this race."<ref name="LeftOut">{{cite news|last=Kaur|first=Harmeet|title=Marianne Williamson was left out of a photo shoot of the women running for president. So she posted an edited version|publisher=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/politics/marianne-williamson-vogue-photoshoot-trnd/index.html|date=July 5, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816214207/https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/politics/marianne-williamson-vogue-photoshoot-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Williamson subsequently posted a fan-made picture of the ''Vogue'' photo with herself edited in.<ref name="Photoshopped">{{cite web|last=Lampen|first=Claire|title=Marianne Williamson Edited Herself Into That Vogue Photo|publisher=]|url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/marianne-williamson-edits-herself-into-vogue-photo.html|date=July 5, 2019|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708013044/https://www.thecut.com/2019/07/marianne-williamson-edits-herself-into-vogue-photo.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BusIn">{{cite web|last=Perticone|first=Joe|title=Marianne Williamson photoshopped herself into a Vogue photoshoot of female presidential candidates that she was left out of|work=Business Insider|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/marianne-williamson-photoshops-herself-into-vogue-photo-of-2020-women-2019-7|date=July 5, 2019|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818211607/https://www.businessinsider.com/marianne-williamson-photoshops-herself-into-vogue-photo-of-2020-women-2019-7|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LeftOut" /><ref name="Gatekeeper">{{cite news|last=Morin|first=Rebecca|title=Marianne Williamson: Vogue magazine is not the 'gatekeeper' of who gets to run for president|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/07/02/marianne-williamson-vogue-snub-2020-democratic-hopefuls/1635830001/|date=July 2, 2019|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818220208/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/07/02/marianne-williamson-vogue-snub-2020-democratic-hopefuls/1635830001/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wintour">{{cite news|author=R. Eric Thomas|title=Girlfriend, Marianne Williamson Would Like to Have a Word with Anna Wintour|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a28268314/marianne-williamson-vogue-instagram/|magazine=Elle Magazine|date=July 2, 2019|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818211603/https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a28268314/marianne-williamson-vogue-instagram/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life and family==
Williamson's older brother, Peter, became an immigration attorney like his father. Her late sister, Elizabeth "Jane," was a teacher.<ref name=People92/><ref name=JHV>{{cite web|title=Sophie Ann Kaplan Williamson|publisher=Jewish Herald Voice|url=http://jhvonline.com/sophie-ann-kaplan-williamson-p4164.htm|date=February 28, 2008|access-date=February 7, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040846/http://jhvonline.com/sophie-ann-kaplan-williamson-p4164.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Her father and her maternal grandparents were ] immigrants.<ref name=KQED>{{cite interview|last=Williamson|first=Marianne|others= Guy Marzorati and Marisa Lagos|title=Marianne Williamson on Reparations, Vaccinations, and Spirituality in Politics|work=]|publisher=KQED|location=San Francisco, CA|date=August 15, 2019}}</ref> Her grandfather changed his surname from Vishnevetsky to Williamson after seeing "Alan Williamson Ltd" on a train.<ref name=VanityFair>{{cite magazine|last=Bennetts|first=Leslie|title=Marianne's Faithful|magazine=]|date=June 1991}}</ref> Williamson described herself as a "Jewish woman" in a 2022 interview.<ref name=":4" />

She was briefly married in 1979 to a Houston businessman. She said the marriage lasted "for a minute and a half".<ref name=LATimes92/>

In 1990, she gave birth to a daughter.<ref name="People92" /><ref name="Skeptical">{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Martin|title=Marianne Williamson and 'A Course in Miracles'|journal=]|location=Amherst, New York|volume=17|issue=1|pages=17–23|date=October 1, 1992|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/1992/10/marianne_williamson_and_a_course_in_miracles/|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808193951/https://skepticalinquirer.org/1992/10/marianne_williamson_and_a_course_in_miracles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, a '']'' poll named her one of the 50 most influential ].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/marianne-williamson-on-whats-wrong-and-right-with-the-world-video |title= Marianne Williamson on What's Wrong{{snd}}and Right{{snd}}with the World |work= Oprah |date= July 29, 2012 |access-date= February 8, 2018 |archive-date= February 10, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002432/http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/marianne-williamson-on-whats-wrong-and-right-with-the-world-video |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 2013, Williamson reported having assets estimated to be valued between $1 million and $5 million (not including personal residences).<ref name="Integrity" />

{{As of|2023}}, Williamson lives in Washington, D.C.<ref name = GibsonFeb24/>

==Charity work==
]
Since the 1980s, Williamson has operated charities based on the principles of the ''Course''.<ref name="Elle" />

===Centers for Living===
In 1987, inspired by a friend's struggle with ], Williamson launched the Center for Living,<ref name=VanityFair/> after a $50,000 donation from ]. Williamson co-founded the organization with ]—a minister of the ]—who claimed to have healed herself of cancer.

The Center primarily assists people afflicted with ], particularly gay men, who were openly welcomed when shunned and refused help by other organizations.<ref name="LAMag" /> The Center provided services such as housework, daily chores, meditation, massage, psychological counseling, and emotional support throughout the city and county of Los Angeles.<ref name="People92" />

In 1989, having received another advance of $50,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=50000|start_year=1989}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) from Geffen, Williamson opened a second Center for Living, this time in New York City;<ref name="VanityFair" /> this location was hampered by a conflict between staff and the board regarding Williamson's management style, which an anonymous former associate described as "very controlling".<ref name="LATimes92" />

Unlike in Los Angeles, the more secular New York had requested for Williamson not to pray, fueling a further disconnect.<ref name="Prophet">{{cite news |last=Servin |first=James |date=February 19, 1992 |title=Prophet of Love Has the Timing Of a Comedian |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/19/garden/prophet-of-love-has-the-timing-of-a-comedian.html |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816213556/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/19/garden/prophet-of-love-has-the-timing-of-a-comedian.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="VanityFair" /><ref name="LATimes92" />

A few months later, after two of Williamson's board members told '']'' that she wanted "to be famous," Williamson felt that she was being treated as "expendable". This notion would lead to the expulsion of several of her board members, including the then-head of the New York Center, as well as of film director ].<ref name="LATimes92" />

Williamson stepped down from her role at the Centers in the summer of 1992. The New York Center was able to remain open, following a donation from ].<ref name="Prophet" /> Williamson gave the organization an extra $50,000 check and left,<ref name="LAMag" /> but remained an advisor to the organization. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that Williamson was "losing trust" in several board members and "preemptively" fired them before her own potential downfall. She disputed this, claiming that she intended to "step down as President," wishing to provide her successor with a "clean slate".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pristin |first=Terry |date=February 16, 1992 |title=COVER STORY : The Power, the Glory, the Glitz : Marianne Williamson, an ex-nightclub singer, has attracted many in Hollywood with her blend of new-time religion and self-help--and alienated more than a few |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-16-ca-4649-story.html |access-date=March 17, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316230941/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-16-ca-4649-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Project Angel Food===
In 1989, with the Centers' success, Williamson launched ] (a program operated by The Centers for Living) to support HIV/AIDS patients.<ref name=Feuds>{{cite news|last=Harris|first=Scott|title=Project Angel Food Rocked by Feuds|newspaper=LA Times|date=July 26, 1992}}</ref> By 1992, it had raised over $1.5 million and was delivering nearly 400 hot meals a day to homebound AIDS patients in Los Angeles.<ref name=People92/>

Williamson resigned from Project Angel Food in March 1992. Employees demanded the resignation of Williamson, reinstatement of her predecessor, and a replacement of the board, threatening unionization if Williamson did not resign.<ref name="LATimes92" /><ref name="Feuds" /> Stephen Bennett, a consultant hired to assess the situation, determined that there were more paid staff on hand than needed, but with a union vote pending, Bennett refused to lay employees off.<ref name="Feuds" />

Project Angel Food struggled for a time following Williamson's departure (Williamson had been the primary fundraiser) but remained operational.<ref name="Feuds" /> By 1998 it had over 1,500 volunteers and nearly 1,000 clients.<ref name="Solace">{{cite news|author=John M. Glionna|title="Angel" Volunteers Deliver Food, Solace|newspaper=LA Times|date=September 8, 1998}}</ref> As of 2018, with expanded food, nutrition and counseling services, it delivered 12,000 meals weekly throughout Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news |title=Project Angel Food's Angel Awards benefit, featuring Charo and Cheyenne Jackson, raises $650,000 |url=http://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-project-angel-food-angel-awards-20180820-htmlstory.html |work=] |date=August 20, 2018 |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132255/http://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-project-angel-food-angel-awards-20180820-htmlstory.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2019, Williamson remains a trustee of the organization.<ref name="Integrity">{{cite web|last=Levinthal|first=Dave|title=9 Things to Know About Marianne Williamson|url=https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/elections/presidential-profiles-2020/marianne-williamson-campaign-election/|website=The Center for Public Integrity|date=March 27, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816213555/https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/elections/presidential-profiles-2020/marianne-williamson-campaign-election/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====AIDS work====
Williamson has helped gay men who she said "were told that they weren't loved by their family and friends, employers, politicians, hospitals."<ref name=Enter>{{cite web|last=Witt|first=Emily|title=Marianne Williamson Wants Politics to Enter The New Age|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/marianne-williamson-wants-politics-to-enter-the-new-age|date=August 7, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816224815/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/marianne-williamson-wants-politics-to-enter-the-new-age|url-status=live}}</ref> She has officiated at funerals, driven men to their doctors, and paid for patients' ] medication.<ref name=MotherJones/><ref name=GayDivide>{{cite web|last=Cauterucci|first=Christina|title=The Gay Divide Over Marianne Williamson|magazine=Slate Magazine|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/marianne-williamson-aids-crisis-history-gay-community.html|date=August 14, 2019|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816214025/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/marianne-williamson-aids-crisis-history-gay-community.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During her 2020 presidential campaign, Williamson was accused of telling gay men not to take medication for AIDS, of implying that they were "not positive enough" to counter the disease, of telling them that they "deserved" the disease, and of telling them to "pray the AIDS away."<ref name=GayDivide/> She has repeatedly denied these accusations.<ref name=GayDivide/><ref name=Cooper>{{cite video|date=August 1, 2019|title=Cooper presses Williamson on her mental health views|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m7WgSP-RqE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/9m7WgSP-RqE |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=CNN|time=0m00s}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Most of the accusations appeared to stem from excerpts or paraphrases of her 1992 book '']''.<ref name=Time>{{cite news|last=Abrams|first=Abagail|title=Experts Criticize Marianne Williamson's Views on Vaccines, Depression and Illness|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/5644331/marianne-williamson-health-science-skepticism/|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808075737/https://time.com/5644331/marianne-williamson-health-science-skepticism/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=TNR>{{cite news|title=Marianne Williamson's Spiritualism Has Deep, Liberal Roots|magazine=The New Republic|date=August 7, 2019|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/154690/marianne-williamson-liberal-spiritualism|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-date=August 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807182452/https://newrepublic.com/article/154690/marianne-williamson-liberal-spiritualism|url-status=live}}</ref>

===The Peace Alliance===
]
In 1998, Williamson co-founded the non-profit Global Renaissance Alliance (GSA) with '']'' author ].<ref name=Keswick/> The organization established a network of "citizen salons" to pray for national growth, peace and liberal causes. According to Williamson, the GSA sat in small "Peace Circles" of fewer than 12 people every other week and prayed together.<ref name="GSA">{{cite web|last=Williamson|first=Marianne|title=A New Movement for Peace|publisher=The Conversation|url=http://theconversation.org/archive/movement.html|date=April 2, 2002|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405064917/http://theconversation.org/archive/movement.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, the GSA's name was changed to ] and was given a new mandate focused on grassroots education and advocacy organization. The intended purpose was to increase U.S. government support for peace-building approaches to domestic and international conflicts. The Peace Alliance advocated for lobbying congressional representatives directly.<ref name="Kucinich">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Kucinich finds support in peace activists|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=May 31, 2003}}</ref>

==="Sister Giant" conferences===
In 2010, Williamson launched "Sister Giant", a series of conferences to "start a new conversation about transformational politics" and encourage more women to run for office:<ref name=Elle/><ref name=Forbes>{{cite news|last=Marcus|first=Bonnie|title=Marianne Williamson: Women and A Call For A New Kind of Politics|magazine=Forbes Magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniemarcus/2012/10/24/marianne-williamson-women-and-a-call-for-a-new-kind-of-politics/#41769e4394ed|date=October 24, 2012|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709033634/https://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniemarcus/2012/10/24/marianne-williamson-women-and-a-call-for-a-new-kind-of-politics/#41769e4394ed|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, ] Women's Campaign School{{snd}}an independent, nonpartisan, issue-neutral political campaign training and leadership program hosted at ]{{snd}}partnered with the series, which focused on how to better address social issues like ], campaign finance reform, and high incarceration rates.<ref name=HuffnPuff>{{cite news|last=Ruffin|first=Monique|title=Marianne Williamson's Sister Giant|work=Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson_b_2085391|date=October 11, 2012|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405070246/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson_b_2085391|url-status=live}}</ref>

===RESULTS===
For several years until 2017, Williamson was a board member of ], a ] nonprofit charity dedicated to finding long-term solutions to ] by focusing on its root causes, and its sister organization, Results Inc., a 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organization that encourages "grassroots advocates to lobby their elected officials" and works "directly with Congress and other U.S. policymakers to shape and advance" anti-poverty policies. The organization has 100 local chapters in the U.S. and is active in six other countries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Tony |date=2006 |title=Changing The Face of Hunger |publisher=Thomas Nelson |page=194 |isbn=978-1418553661 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcrUf-r2ZYkC |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026083433/https://books.google.com/books?id=JcrUf-r2ZYkC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Turning Compassion into a Political Force |url=https://www.results.org/events/IC_2012_Marianne_Williamson |website=Results.org |access-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106092934/https://www.results.org/events/IC_2012_Marianne_Williamson |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite web |date=August 16, 2012 |title=Gabrielle Bernstein Interviews Marianne Williamson: Sister Giant |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson_b_1759887 |access-date=October 16, 2012 |work=Huffington Post |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106132345/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marianne-williamson_b_1759887 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Books==
* '']'' (1992, {{ISBN|978-0060927486}})
* ''A Woman's Worth'' (1992, {{ISBN|978-0345386571}})
* ''Illuminata: A Return to Prayer'' (1994, {{ISBN|978-1573225205}})
* ''The Healing of America'' (1994, {{ISBN|9780684842707}})
* ''Emma & Mommy Talk to God'' (1996, {{ISBN|978-0060799267}})
* ''Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power of Intimate Relationships'' (1999, {{ISBN|978-0684870250}})
* ''Imagine What America Could Be in the 21st Century: Visions of a Better Future from Leading American Thinkers'' (2000, {{ISBN|0451204697}})
* ''Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voices as Spiritual Citizens'' (2000, {{ISBN|978-0684846224}})
* ''Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, And Making Miracles'' (2002, {{ISBN|978-1573223515}})
* ''The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for Living Your Best Life'' (2004, {{ISBN|0060816112}})
* ''A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever'' (2010, {{ISBN|1401921531}})
* ''The Law of Divine Compensation: On Work, Money and Miracles'' (2014, {{ISBN|0062205412}})
* ''Tears to Triumph: The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment'' (2016, {{ISBN|978-0062205445}})
* ''A Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New American Revolution'' (2019, {{ISBN|0062873938}})
* ''The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love'' (2023, {{ISBN|0062205471}})


== References == == References ==
{{Reflist|30em}} {{reflist}}


== External links == == External links ==
{{Commons cat|Marianne Williamson}} {{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}} {{Wikiquote}}
* * {{Official website}}
*
* at Oprah.com * at Oprah.com
* * on '']''
* *
* *
* *
* {{C-SPAN|49808}}


{{United States presidential election, 2020}}
{{A Course in Miracles}} {{A Course in Miracles}}
{{United States presidential election, 2020}}
{{Authority control}}
{{United States presidential election, 2024}}
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Marianne}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Marianne}}
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Latest revision as of 06:24, 27 December 2024

American author and politician (born 1952)

Marianne Williamson
Williamson in 2019
BornMarianne Deborah Williamson
(1952-07-08) July 8, 1952 (age 72)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupations
  • Author
  • teacher
  • politician
  • activist
Political partyDemocratic
Children1
WebsiteMarianne Williamson
Signature

Marianne Deborah Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is an American author, speaker, and political activist. She began her professional career as spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. Williamson has written several self-help books, including A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles in 1992, which became a New York Times Best Seller. She was launched into prominence by Oprah Winfrey, being a frequent guest on her daytime talk show and becoming known as her "spiritual advisor".

Williamson ran unsuccessfully as an independent for California's 33rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 2014, finishing fourth with 13.2% of the vote. She ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, eventually dropping out and endorsing Bernie Sanders. She ran in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, challenging incumbent President Joe Biden. Williamson's presidential platform calls for an end to the war on drugs, a federal minimum wage increase, reparations for racial injustice, addressing climate change, and creating a U.S. Department of Peace. On February 7, 2024, she announced she had suspended her campaign after receiving 2.9% of the vote in the Nevada Democratic primary, but on February 28, 2024, Williamson re-entered the presidential race after placing third in the Michigan Democratic primary, receiving 3% of the vote. However, on June 11, 2024, Williamson suspended her campaign. On July 2, 2024, Williamson re-entered the presidential race amidst calls for Biden to drop out after his June 27 debate performance, before later dropping out again on July 29. She announced her bid for DNC chair on December 26, 2024.

Williamson has been actively involved with charity work, founding such organizations as Center for Living in 1987, Project Angel Food in 1989, and the Peace Alliance in 1998. She sits on the board for RESULTS, a nonprofit group which is dedicated to finding long-term solutions to poverty.

Early life and education

Williamson was born in Houston, Texas, in 1952. She is the youngest of three children of Samuel "Sam" Williamson, a World War II veteran and immigration lawyer, and Sophie Ann Kaplan, a homemaker and community volunteer.

Williamson was raised in an upper-middle-class family that practiced Conservative Judaism. Her family attended Congregation Beth Yeshurun. She learned about world religions and social justice at home and became interested in public advocacy when she saw her rabbi speak against the Vietnam War.

In 1965, after Williamson came home from school in the seventh grade, she recounted to her parents that her teacher supported the Vietnam War. Her father reacted by taking the family to Vietnam to help explain to Marianne why he thought that the war was wrong. She has said that through travel she "had an experience, at a young age, that people are the same everywhere."

Williamson attended Houston ISD's Bellaire High School. After graduating, she spent two years studying theater and philosophy at Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a roommate of future film producer Lynda Obst. In 1973, Williamson dropped out of college and lived "a nomadic existence" during what she calls "her wasted decade".

Williamson moved to New Mexico, where she took classes at the University of New Mexico and lived in a geodesic dome with her boyfriend. The couple broke up a year later. Marianne then moved to Austin, Texas, where she took classes at the University of Texas. After leaving Texas, she went to New York City, intending to pursue a career as a cabaret singer; however, she has stated that she was distracted by "bad boys and good dope". Vanity Fair wrote that Williamson "spent her twenties in a growing state of existential despair." In New York, Williamson suffered from deep depression following the end of a relationship. She has said that this experience gave rise to a desire to spend the rest of her life helping people.

A Course in Miracles

Although initially uninterested due to her Jewish faith, Williamson developed an interest in Helen Schucman's book A Course in Miracles in 1976. She explored spirituality, metaphysics, and meditation as she began reading the Course "passionately". She also reconciled the Course with her Jewishness; in her view, "A conversion to Christ is not a conversion to Christianity. It is a conversion to a conviction of the heart".

Williamson said the book was her "path out of hell", as she had been "mired in a series of unhappy love affairs, alcohol and drug abuse, a nervous breakdown, and endless sessions with therapists." The Course has often been described as a religion or pseudoreligion. Williamson disagrees, describing it as a "spiritual psychotherapy" instead of a religion.

Career

Williamson, 2019

In 1979, Williamson returned to Houston, where she ran a metaphysical bookstore coffee shop, sang Gershwin standards in a nightclub, got married and divorced "almost immediately", and underwent a "spiritual surrender".

In 1983, Williamson had what she has called a "flash" to close the coffee shop and move to Los Angeles. She got an apartment in Hollywood, where her roommate was 17-year-old Laura Dern. Dern has stated that Williamson "held prayer groups in our living room."

Williamson's teachings stemmed from an inspirational message: "Divine love is the core and essence of every human mind." She saw this message as a remedy to misinterpretations of the Bible that, through an emphasis on sin and guilt, could lead to harm (e.g., slavery, depression, self-loathing).

As word spread about "the young woman talking about a God who loves you, no matter what," she had to rent church space to accommodate the demand to hear her speak. In 1987, she began lecturing monthly in New York. Eventually, she was invited to speak throughout the U.S. and Europe. Williamson did not charge for her lectures but had a "suggested donation" of $7 and a policy of not turning people away for lack of money. Williamson's style has been described as a "trendy amalgam of Christianity, Buddhism, pop psychology and 12-step recovery wisdom".

Unity Church Pastor

Williamson became the spiritual leader for the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan, where she had 2,300 congregants and 50,000 television viewers. Her position also included administrative leadership; her actions as leader included booking Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, expanding the bookstore, and increasing the congregation's racial and sexual orientation diversity. As a result, the Church grew rapidly.

Williamson resigned from the Church Renaissance Unity Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship in 2003. For a time, she lectured at Methodist, Episcopal and Unitarian churches.

Author

Oprah's SuperSoul Conversations Podcast: Marianne Williamson – "A Return to Love"

Williamson has written 14 books as of 2019. Seven have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with four reaching number one. She has sold more than three million books.

Williamson's most popular work is A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles (1992). The book appeared on The New York Times bestseller list for 39 weeks in the "Advice, How To and Miscellaneous" category; it teaches that practicing love every day will bring more peace and fulfillment to one's life. The following quotation is the most famous quotation from the book (it is often misattributed to Nelson Mandela):

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Oprah Winfrey said of the book, "I have never been more moved by a book than I am by this one." Winfrey bought 1,000 copies and encouraged her audience to purchase it, telling them that after reading it, she experienced 157 miracles. Williamson was a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and became Oprah's spiritual advisor.

Political campaigns

2014 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

Williamson's 2014 congressional campaign logo
Williamson campaigning alongside Alanis Morissette

In 2014, Williamson ran as an Independent for California's 33rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Prominent elected and public officials endorsed her campaign, including Ben Cohen; former governors Jennifer Granholm and Jesse Ventura; former representatives Dennis Kucinich and Alan Grayson; and Van Jones. Alanis Morissette wrote and performed Williamson's campaign song, "Today".

Williamson campaigned on progressive issues such as campaign finance reform, women's reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality. She raised $2.4 million, of which she personally contributed 25 percent.

Williamson finished fourth out of 18 candidates, with 14,335 votes or 13.2 percent of the vote. Republican Elan Carr finished first in the primary with 21.6 percent of the vote, but went on to lose the general election to Democrat Ted Lieu.

2020 presidential campaign

Main article: Marianne Williamson 2020 presidential campaign

On November 15, 2018, Williamson announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee. On January 28, 2019, Williamson officially launched her presidential campaign before an audience of 2,000 people in Los Angeles. She appointed Maurice Daniel, who served alongside Donna Brazile in Dick Gephardt's campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1988, as her national campaign manager. Williamson's campaign committee, "Marianne Williamson for President", officially filed on February 4.

As of May 1, Williamson had a campaign staff of 20. A week later, she announced she had received enough contributions from unique donors to enter the official primary debates. Her campaign had raised $1.5 million (~$1.76 million in 2023) in the first quarter of 2019, during which it received donations from 46,663 unique individuals. Williamson subsequently met the polling criteria, with three unique polls at one percent from qualifying pollsters, on May 23.

In June, Williamson confirmed that she had moved to Des Moines, Iowa, in advance of the 2020 caucuses. In response to the Iowa Democratic Party's proposed creation of "virtual caucuses" in the 2020 race, Williamson's campaign announced it would appoint 99 "Virtual Iowa Caucus Captains" (each assigned to a single county) to turn out supporters in both the virtual and in-person caucuses.

Later that month, Williamson participated in the first primary debate. The LA Times wrote that Democratic voters were "confused" and "transfixed" by Williamson, who declared that her first act as president would be to call New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and say, "Girlfriend, you are so on", a reference to Ardern's emphasis on building a country that treats its children well. Williamson also received media attention for her closing remarks:

In the closing moments of Thursday night’s Democratic debate, Marianne Williamson looked straight ahead and told the audience that her plan for her candidacy is to harness the country’s love. “Mr. President, if you’re listening,” she said, addressing Donald Trump directly, “you have harnessed fear for political purposes, and only love can cast that out. I am going to harness love for political purposes,” she continued, raising her eyebrows. “And sir, love will win.”

On July 30, Williamson participated in the second primary debate. She was the most Googled candidate in 49 of 50 states and received the fourth-most attention on X, then known as Twitter. The spike in searches was prompted by her reference to the Flint water crisis and her assertion that President Trump was harnessing a "dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred," which she later described as racism, bigotry, antisemitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and xenophobia propelled by social media.

On the day of the third DNC debate, for which she did not qualify, Williamson did an interview with Eric Bolling and expressed further frustration with the media when she thought she was not being recorded. Among her unscripted comments was "what does it say that Fox News is nicer to me than the lefties are?"

On January 10, 2020, Williamson announced the end of her campaign and pledged to support the Democratic nominee.

Many pundits treated Williamson's brief campaign as comic relief, often characterizing her as a novelty candidate due to her unconventional approach and spiritual rhetoric. However, some found her message persuasive and influential. After the July 30, 2019, Democratic debate, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote, "It feels insane to say this, but Williamson out-debated virtually everyone else on the stage. She gave a compelling answer on reparations and returned again and again to the most important issue for Democratic voters, beating Trump."

2024 presidential campaign

Main article: Marianne Williamson 2024 presidential campaign
A Marianne Williamson 2024 logo

Williamson began "working on putting a machine together" to run for president in 2024, visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire in early 2023. On February 23, 2023, she confirmed that she would launch a run for president in the future. She started her 2024 campaign on March 4, 2023.

Williamson's 2024 deputy campaign manager, Jason Call, departed from her team on May 20, 2023, a week after her campaign manager, Peter Daou, had announced similar intentions. The two gave substantially different reasons for their actions than did the campaign. Earlier in 2023, a dozen former staffers from her 2020 campaign, who remained anonymous due to having signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), described working for Williamson as "toxic," "traumatic," and "terrifying". Williamson has been accused of throwing phones and shouting at staff so intensely they were reduced to tears. According to one account, her anger over logistics in South Carolina led her to strike a car repeatedly to the extent that she had to receive medical attention for a swollen hand. Williamson has denied the phone-throwing charge, admitted to the car incident, and acknowledged that she may have room for personal growth.

More staff left Williamson's team in June 2023, including her new campaign manager.

In July 2023, Politico reported that Williamson had contributed $220,000 to her own campaign and that the campaign's most recent financial disclosure showed $270,000 in unpaid debts.

She received 4% of the votes in the New Hampshire primary. Following the New Hampshire primary, she held a volunteer Zoom meeting where she announced a tentative decision to drop out of the race, but after the call was leaked to the X account OrganizerMemes, she decided to stay in, but she dropped out after receiving only 2.1% of the vote in the South Carolina primary and 2.9% of the vote in the Nevada primary with no delegates. After the Michigan primary, Williamson decided to reenter the race when she received 3% of the vote.

Williamson received approximately 500,000 votes in the primary.

Williamson ended her campaign on June 11, 2024. She re-entered the race on July 2, 2024. Williamson also expressed interest in an open convention after President Biden had announced he was dropping out of the race. On July 29, 2024, she ended her campaign for the final time.

2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship campaign

Further information: 2025 Democratic National Committee chairmanship election

On December 26, 2024, Williamson announced her candidacy in the election of the Democratic National Committee chairperson.

Political positions

Abortion rights

As a candidate for 2024 U.S. President, Williamson has stated her strong support for abortion access, services, and choice. She has spoken in favor of the abortion rights that were guaranteed under the now-overturned 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.

Williamson has shared her belief that it is good to expand women's understanding of alternatives; however, eradicating or limiting women's options would not reduce the number of terminations sought. Instead, it would result in wealthier women having access to safe abortions while poorer women face risks to their health.

Black American reparations

Williamson supports the distribution of $200-$500 billion in reparations for slavery, spread across 20 years for "economic and education projects", to be disbursed based on the recommendation of a selected group of black leaders.

Climate change and energy

Williamson deems climate change to be "the greatest moral challenge of our generation." She claimed support for the Green New Deal, immediate re-entry into the Paris Climate Accords, and has stated that she would be willing to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership if it included greater protections for workers and the environment.

Williamson also supports the U.S. directing subsidies from fossil fuels, including coal, and re-investing them in the development of renewable energy, both in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in developing countries.

Gun control

Williamson supports gun control, and has described the issue as one personal to her. On November 4, 2018, she gave a keynote address to several hundred Muslim and Jewish women at the Sisterhood of Salaam-Shalom conference in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, eight days after 11 Jewish people were murdered at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue. A Jewish woman, she argued against fear being used as a political force and advocated for love in its place.

Health care and vaccinations

Williamson supports universal health care under a "Medicare for All type of plan". Williamson also supports independent regulation of the pharmaceutical industry to prevent what she has called "predatory practices".

A "both-and" approach (both prayer and medicine) to physical and mental health has been attributed to Williamson. Williamson has said, "People who are prayed for get out of the emergency room faster," and "people who have been diagnosed with a life-challenging illness, who attend spiritual support groups, live, on average, twice as long after diagnosis".

Williamson has stated her support for the necessity and value of vaccinations and antidepressants, but has been criticized for her skepticism about the pharmaceutical industry's influence in setting guidelines for how they are administered, citing her belief that their profit motive could result in harm to patients.

She has also criticized overprescription of antidepressants, questioning whether antidepressants play a role in suicide, saying that the prescriptive definition between sadness and clinical depression is "artificial", and having called the process by which clinical depression is diagnosed "a scam".

During Williamson's presidential campaign, several excerpts of her past comments have conflated her skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry's trustworthiness with an embrace of anti-vaccination dogma. As a result, she has been accused of being "anti-medicine" and "anti-science". She denies such accusations, saying they "could not be further from the truth." Williamson has expressed frustration that her skepticism of the pharmaceutical industry has been equated with skepticism of the science of vaccines. She has said, "Skeptical about vaccinations I have not expressed. Skeptical about Big Pharma in general I have expressed. And there is a big difference."

Immigration

Williamson does not support open borders, but calls for what she describes as a more humane approach to border policy. In June 2019, Williamson criticized then-President Donald Trump on his immigration policies after reports of children being separated from their families and being put in a detainment center; she called these acts "state-sponsored crimes". After Trump's announcement that ICE would begin mass-deportations, she said it is "no different" than what Jewish people faced in Nazi Germany.

Williamson also supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and expanding protections and naturalization to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, regardless of their current age.

Other domestic issues

Williamson supports The Equality Act and an increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, and has called religion a map in which "the route isn't important. It's the destination that matters."

International relations and national security

Williamson supports the creation of a United States Department of Peace to aid in her proposed redesign, which also includes a plan to establish a Peace Academy modeled after military academies.

Williamson supports military engagement when a NATO ally is threatened, when the United States is under threat of attack, or "when the humanitarian order of the world is at risk".

Williamson supported safe withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible and would consider the use of a peace-keeping force, such as the United Nations, to assist with the transition. Williamson has said she supports the U.S. vigorously using its position, i.e., through CFIUS, to prevent China from buying strategically important companies, which she believes will help defend U.S. economic interests and human rights, as in the cases of the Uighurs and residents of Hong Kong. Williamson supports rejoining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Williamson criticized the Trump administration for elevating tensions with Iran. Williamson supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Public image

Williamson in February 2019

Williamson has been referred to as a "New Age guru". The label has been associated with her for years, but she has long rejected such terms, calling them "outrageous". She has stated that she prefers to be called an author.

In the context of her political campaigns, Williamson's image has polarized many, with some praising her as authentic and eloquent, while others have criticized her for lacking seriousness. Her performance during the 2020 Democratic presidential debates received praise from a number of politicians, such as Democrats Jennifer Granholm and Ro Khanna, and media outlets like The Washington Post, for providing "surprisingly eloquent" and "meaningful" answers to questions on social issues. Others have criticized her responses, including a writer for Vox who called her answers "extremely vague" and "deeply weird", and a writer for Salon who called her answers "kooky". Williamson's unorthodox style led to a large response across social media platforms such as Twitter, where she was the subject of various jokes and memes.

She made headlines when she criticized Vogue for its "insidious influence" when it did not include her in an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot of the 2020 female presidential candidates. The magazine responded that it only wanted "to highlight the five female lawmakers who bring a collective 40 years of political experience to this race."

Williamson subsequently posted a fan-made picture of the Vogue photo with herself edited in.

Personal life and family

Williamson's older brother, Peter, became an immigration attorney like his father. Her late sister, Elizabeth "Jane," was a teacher. Her father and her maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. Her grandfather changed his surname from Vishnevetsky to Williamson after seeing "Alan Williamson Ltd" on a train. Williamson described herself as a "Jewish woman" in a 2022 interview.

She was briefly married in 1979 to a Houston businessman. She said the marriage lasted "for a minute and a half".

In 1990, she gave birth to a daughter.

In 2006, a Newsweek poll named her one of the 50 most influential baby boomers.

In 2013, Williamson reported having assets estimated to be valued between $1 million and $5 million (not including personal residences).

As of 2023, Williamson lives in Washington, D.C.

Charity work

Williamson, 2014

Since the 1980s, Williamson has operated charities based on the principles of the Course.

Centers for Living

In 1987, inspired by a friend's struggle with breast cancer, Williamson launched the Center for Living, after a $50,000 donation from David Geffen. Williamson co-founded the organization with Louise Hay—a minister of the New Thought Church of Religious Science—who claimed to have healed herself of cancer.

The Center primarily assists people afflicted with HIV/AIDS, particularly gay men, who were openly welcomed when shunned and refused help by other organizations. The Center provided services such as housework, daily chores, meditation, massage, psychological counseling, and emotional support throughout the city and county of Los Angeles.

In 1989, having received another advance of $50,000 (~$106,954 in 2023) from Geffen, Williamson opened a second Center for Living, this time in New York City; this location was hampered by a conflict between staff and the board regarding Williamson's management style, which an anonymous former associate described as "very controlling".

Unlike in Los Angeles, the more secular New York had requested for Williamson not to pray, fueling a further disconnect.

A few months later, after two of Williamson's board members told Vanity Fair that she wanted "to be famous," Williamson felt that she was being treated as "expendable". This notion would lead to the expulsion of several of her board members, including the then-head of the New York Center, as well as of film director Mike Nichols.

Williamson stepped down from her role at the Centers in the summer of 1992. The New York Center was able to remain open, following a donation from Cher. Williamson gave the organization an extra $50,000 check and left, but remained an advisor to the organization. The Los Angeles Times reported that Williamson was "losing trust" in several board members and "preemptively" fired them before her own potential downfall. She disputed this, claiming that she intended to "step down as President," wishing to provide her successor with a "clean slate".

Project Angel Food

In 1989, with the Centers' success, Williamson launched Project Angel Food (a program operated by The Centers for Living) to support HIV/AIDS patients. By 1992, it had raised over $1.5 million and was delivering nearly 400 hot meals a day to homebound AIDS patients in Los Angeles.

Williamson resigned from Project Angel Food in March 1992. Employees demanded the resignation of Williamson, reinstatement of her predecessor, and a replacement of the board, threatening unionization if Williamson did not resign. Stephen Bennett, a consultant hired to assess the situation, determined that there were more paid staff on hand than needed, but with a union vote pending, Bennett refused to lay employees off.

Project Angel Food struggled for a time following Williamson's departure (Williamson had been the primary fundraiser) but remained operational. By 1998 it had over 1,500 volunteers and nearly 1,000 clients. As of 2018, with expanded food, nutrition and counseling services, it delivered 12,000 meals weekly throughout Los Angeles. As of 2019, Williamson remains a trustee of the organization.

AIDS work

Williamson has helped gay men who she said "were told that they weren't loved by their family and friends, employers, politicians, hospitals." She has officiated at funerals, driven men to their doctors, and paid for patients' AIDS medication.

During her 2020 presidential campaign, Williamson was accused of telling gay men not to take medication for AIDS, of implying that they were "not positive enough" to counter the disease, of telling them that they "deserved" the disease, and of telling them to "pray the AIDS away." She has repeatedly denied these accusations. Most of the accusations appeared to stem from excerpts or paraphrases of her 1992 book A Return to Love.

The Peace Alliance

In 1998, Williamson co-founded the non-profit Global Renaissance Alliance (GSA) with Conversations with God author Neale Donald Walsch. The organization established a network of "citizen salons" to pray for national growth, peace and liberal causes. According to Williamson, the GSA sat in small "Peace Circles" of fewer than 12 people every other week and prayed together.

In 2004, the GSA's name was changed to The Peace Alliance and was given a new mandate focused on grassroots education and advocacy organization. The intended purpose was to increase U.S. government support for peace-building approaches to domestic and international conflicts. The Peace Alliance advocated for lobbying congressional representatives directly.

"Sister Giant" conferences

In 2010, Williamson launched "Sister Giant", a series of conferences to "start a new conversation about transformational politics" and encourage more women to run for office:

In 2012, Yale University's Women's Campaign School – an independent, nonpartisan, issue-neutral political campaign training and leadership program hosted at Yale Law School – partnered with the series, which focused on how to better address social issues like child poverty, campaign finance reform, and high incarceration rates.

RESULTS

For several years until 2017, Williamson was a board member of Results Educational Fund (RESULTS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity dedicated to finding long-term solutions to poverty by focusing on its root causes, and its sister organization, Results Inc., a 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organization that encourages "grassroots advocates to lobby their elected officials" and works "directly with Congress and other U.S. policymakers to shape and advance" anti-poverty policies. The organization has 100 local chapters in the U.S. and is active in six other countries.

Books

References

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