Karen Swallow Prior
Kathy Khang speaks at the session April 13 at the Festival of Faith and Writing. RNS photo by Emily McFarlan Miller
The panel of Christian women writers described the night Donald Trump won the presidency as, in the words of one, “a nightmare.”
“As the numbers rolled in, [there was] just this sense of this nightmare is really true – our family, the body of Christ, is actually going to vote in a way that dehumanized our presence here in this country,” said Sandra Maria Van Opstal, a second-generation Latina and the executive pastor of Grace and Peace Community in Chicago.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. Photo courtesy McClure/Muntsinger Public Relations. Via RNS
Common Core, a set of educational standards that has faced criticism from religious groups, has found an ally in the largest organization of Hispanic Christians in the U.S.
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference’s endorsement of the program Wednesday buoys the Common Core initiative, which has drawn criticism from conservative Christians who say it reflects liberal values.
Some prominent religious leaders, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, have expressed support for the program, but the conference’s endorsement marks the first time a large Christian group has embraced the initiative, adopted by all but five states.