Oklahoma state representative and Democrat Regina Goodwin is taking fire online after she appeared to call diversity, equity and inclusion "God" during a recorded meeting.
"That’s very disturbing, to say the least, when we have, again, a state superintendent who does not want to have anything to do with diversity, equity and inclusion," Goodwin said during a March 2 meeting.
"DEI, is a deity, diversity, equity and inclusion is God," she concluded.
State Rep. Goodwin was responding to a new bill that would allow Oklahoma parents to review the state’s curriculum for students through a database, according to local affiliate Fox 25 News.
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The comments, seemingly equating DEI values with that of a "God," made the rounds on Twitter Tuesday.
"She sounds like someone whose worldview has been thoroughly framed through womanist (black feminist) liberation theology," one user wrote.
"Well there it is. ‘It’s not like a religion, it is a religion,’" another user said.
"I told y'all ‘DIE’ wasn't what they really meant like three years ago," a third Twitter user responded.
Goodwin was criticizing a bill introduced by fellow state Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, that would require the Oklahoma Department of Education to provide more transparency to parents on their schools' curriculum.
"Long story short, this is a very controversial issue, it’s a very controversial bill, there’s nothing that’s simple about it," Goodwin said.
"And when we start having government overreach, which I often hear folks talk about here, this is a prime example of government overreach, and I would hope that we would allow our teachers and our folks that are really trying to do the work of educating — Leave them be," she continued.
"To say they’re going to have to share every waking moment of what they do, and how they do it, is not productive."
Caldwell argued that allowing parents to check on their school’s curriculum was a "simple middle-of-the-road common-sense solution" that would help address parents’ concerns about education, according to KOKH-TV in Oklahoma.
"I don’t know what the cost is as it relates to this in terms of classroom time or any other time that a teacher might need, but then we want to leave more stuff up to the state Department of Education," Goodwin also said.
Rep. Goodwin’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
