Texas Democrat James Talarico, the progressive Senate candidate running against Attorney General Ken Paxton, just got exposed again.
In newly surfaced audio from an April 2024 appearance on The State of Belief podcast alongside Muslim state Rep. Salman Bhojani, Talarico openly credited Islam for molding his religious beliefs.
“I know personally that I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” Talarico said.
He continued by praising interfaith dialogue for bringing “new flavors and new colors” to his tradition and even quoted the Islamic mystic Rumi: “In every religion there is love, yet love has no religion.”
The audio was highlighted by RNC Research and reported by The Daily Wire.
WATCH:
UNEARTHED
James Talarico — who said he “hates Christianity” — praised Islam for inspiring his religious beliefs:
“I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors…” pic.twitter.com/2UeksY9Hko
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 27, 2026
This is the same James Talarico who previously described himself as “a Christian who hates Christianity.”
As The Gateway Pundit reported in June, Talarico made that stunning admission during a 2021 interview on the Activist Theology podcast hosted by a self-described “TransQueer” activist theologian.
“I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity,” Talarico declared at the time, before claiming he keeps getting “drawn back into it” because of the “radical” and “revolutionary” teachings of the “barefoot rabbi.”
Now the man who hates Christianity is telling Texans that Islamic mystics and Sufi poetry shaped his faith just as much as the Bible and Christian writers. And he’s running as the supposed “Christian” alternative in one of the most important Senate races in the country.
Talarico has made his faith a central part of his campaign brand, frequently talking about “biblical Christianity.” Yet the record shows a long pattern of progressive reinterpretations that look nothing like traditional Christianity:
- He has claimed God is “nonbinary.”
- He has called Jesus a “radical feminist.”
- He has suggested multiple biological sexes exist.
- He has argued that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms is “deeply unchristian.”
The Gateway Pundit also previously reported that Talarico described Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other religions as different pathways leading to the same “fundamental truth.”
“I always think of all the world’s faith traditions as a circle, with that divine mystery of the universe in the middle,” Talarico said in that clip.
Texas voters, especially Christian voters, should pay close attention. A candidate who once said he hates Christianity and now says Islamic mystics shaped his faith equally is not running on the faith of most Texans.
The post UNEARTHED: “Christian Who Hates Christianity” James Talarico Now Credits Islamic Mystics and Rumi for Shaping His Faith as Much as Christian Writers appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.