Spanning the Divide

They come from different places and different walks of life, sharing a common ancestry and name in the United States: Hispanic.1 Whether newly arrived immigrants or people whose families have been in the United States for generations, their explosive growth is changing the face of United States culture. They are a people with deep religious roots and vibrant spiritual energy, which has tremendous implications for the practice of religion—in particular Christianity—in this country. In both Catholic and Protestant congregations, the Hispanic or Latino/a presence is growing. Their thirst for spiritual connection is strong; their temporal needs are many.