The California Megachurch Pushing Public Schools to the Far Right

Source: Daily Beast

The California Megachurch Pushing Public Schools to the Far Right

Kate Briquelet Senior Reporter
Decca Muldowney Reporter-Researcher
Updated Sep. 04, 2023 9:04AM EDT / Published Sep. 04, 2023 4:33AM EDT

Outside the California State Capitol last month, a fitness trainer turned school board president fired up the crowd at a parental rights rally, telling them they were all fighters in “a spiritual battle” for their kids and must answer the call from God.

Sonja Shaw, who was elected to the Chino Valley Unified School District board of education last November with an assist from a local megachurch and its Christian nationalist pastor, didn’t equivocate in naming the enemy: state Democratic officials who are challenging her right-leaning policies—and drafting laws that hinder book bans and protect teachers from harassment.

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But in Chino Valley, the school board’s new direction appears to be spurred on by a man behind the curtain: Shaw’s megachurch pastor Jack Hibbs.

Indeed, three of the board’s five members belong to his church, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.

At the Sacramento rally, Hibbs boasted of his congregation’s work in electing Shaw. Calling her a “true modern-day Deborah,” Hibbs said the soccer mom “heeded the call to run for the school board” and that “when churches get involved and get informed, people vote.”

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/california-megachurch-pastor-jack-hibbs-and-his-acolytes-are-pushing-public-schools-to-the-far-right