Texas state Rep. James Talarico, who recently won the state’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, has faced relentless attacks from Republicans over his religious and political views. But one expert in public humanities and religion believes there’s an underlying reason for them.
Talarico, a former public school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, has often centered his arguments in favor of liberal policies on his Christian faith. He’s argued that there’s “no historical, theological, biblical basis” that supports the idea that being Christian “means you have to be anti-gay and anti-abortion.” He told The New York Times Opinion section last month that the separation of church and state is “sacred” and for the “benefit of the church.”
He has argued that a Republican bill in Texas that would require every classroom in the state to display the Ten Commandments is both “unconstitutional” and “deeply un-Christian.”
“I say that because I believe this bill is idolatrous, I believe it is exclusionary and I believe it is arrogant,” he said about the bill at a hearing in 2023. “And those three things, in my reading of the Gospel, are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus.”
The Texas Democrat has emphasized on many occasions that his faith has guided him to “love my neighbor as myself.” He’s also spoken out against Christian nationalism, telling host Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” last month that “there is nothing Christian about Christian nationalism.”
