--- title: "Texas Senate candidate James Talarico criticised Christian nationalism in 2023 sermon" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-08-20T18:46:55.320Z" source_reported: "2026-08-20T15:24:57.000Z" updated: "2026-08-20T19:30:49.500Z" trust_score: 30 critic_score: 45 hype_score: 65 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-20T19:30:49.386987+00:00" --- # Texas Senate candidate James Talarico criticised Christian nationalism in 2023 sermon *Right-rated outlet reports remarks resurfaced by the New York Post ahead of November 2026 election* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 30 of 100, higher is better. Central claim rests on anonymous sourcing alone. - Craft 45 of 100, higher is better. No right of reply or affected voices quoted. - Hype 65 of 100, lower is better. Headline and language overstate the substance. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - James Talarico, a Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, delivered a 2023 sermon criticising Christian nationalism and institutional faith, as reported by 100PercentFedUp.com. - Talarico’s remarks, resurfaced by the New York Post, include the statement 'God is not a Christian' and describe Christian nationalism as a movement 'based on mutual hate'. - The sermon has drawn criticism from conservative commentators ahead of Talarico’s November 2026 U.S. Senate race against Ken Paxton. - No left- or centre-rated outlets reported on the resurfaced remarks, according to the material supplied. James Talarico, a Texas state representative and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, delivered a sermon in 2023 in which he criticised Christian nationalism and institutional Christianity. The remarks were resurfaced by the New York Post and reported by 100PercentFedUp.com in August 2026. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, is running against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the November 2026 election. In the sermon, Talarico stated that 'God is not a Christian' and described God as 'a verb' rather than a noun. He characterised Christian nationalism as a 'sectarian movement based on mutual hate' and argued that it had co-opted the teachings of Jesus. Talarico cited the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, efforts to replace public schools with private Christian schools in Texas, and the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol as examples of Christian nationalism’s influence. 100PercentFedUp.com also reported that Talarico made additional remarks in a 2021 podcast interview with Roberto Che Henderson-Espinoza, a theologian who identifies as nonbinary and transgender. In the interview, Talarico described his 'whiteness' and 'masculinity' as limiting his imagination and referred to Jesus as a socialist. The audio was shared by the Republican National Committee’s research arm. ## What the coverage left out None of the left- or centre-rated outlets supplied in the material published any report on Talarico’s 2023 sermon or the resurfaced remarks. The omission is a finding about the reports printed below: no account from those sides is present. ## Who covered it Shares of the 7 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 14% (1) - Right: 86% (6) 0 of 7 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-20T19:30:49.386987+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 5 times; 1 check found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-20T20:15:33.328Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre No separate framing summary. ### Right - 100PercentFedUp.com led its report with Talarico’s criticism of Christian nationalism and his statement that 'God is not a Christian'. The outlet framed Talarico’s remarks as evidence of a disconnect between his campaign trail claims of faith and his theological views. It quoted Talarico’s description of Christian nationalism as a movement 'based on mutual hate' and his assertion that 'sinners will see the kingdom of heaven before religious people do'. - The report included reactions from conservative commentators on social media. Matthew Newgarden, identified as a commentator, described Talarico as 'an extreme candidate who uses church pulpits to attack traditional faith and promote abortion'. Another commentator, Muad’Dib, called Talarico 'a liberal plant pretending to be something he isn’t'. The outlet also highlighted Talarico’s 2021 podcast remarks, including his reference to Jesus as a socialist and his description of his minister as a 'true white traitor'. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 3 - mixed: 4 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Texas Scorecard](https://texasscorecard.com/decisiontexas/talarico-says-god-is-not-a-christian-in-unearthed-sermon) — Talarico Says ‘God Is Not a Christian’ in Unearthed Sermon - [100% FED UP!](https://100percentfedup.com/watch-another-unearthed-talarico-sermon-promotes-abortion-insists) — Another Unearthed Talarico ‘Sermon’ Promotes Abortion, Insists ‘God Is Not A Christian’ – 100PercentFedUp.com – by Russell - [Washington Times](https://washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/20/texas-voters-decide-who-james-talarico-fair-minded-christian-crunchy) — Texas voters to decide who is James Talarico — a fair-minded Christian or a crunchy left-winger - [ussanews.com](https://ussanews.com/2026/08/20/texas-senate-hopeful-james-talarico-once-claimed-god-is-not-a-christian-during-2023-sermon) — Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico once claimed ‘God is not a Christian’ during 2023 sermon - [Internewscast](https://internewscast.com/news/james-talaricos-2023-sermon-resurfaces-god-is-not-a-christian-and-abortion-defense) — James Talarico’s 2023 Sermon Resurfaces: ‘God Is Not a Christian’ and Abortion Defense - [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2026/08/20/us-news/james-talarico-once-claimed-god-is-not-a-christian-defended-abortion-during-2023-sermon) — Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico once claimed ‘God is not a Christian,’ defended abortion during 2023 sermon - [WLTReport](https://wltreport.com/2026/08/20/watch-another-unearthed-talarico-sermon-promotes-abortion-insists-god-is-not-a-christian) — Another Unearthed Talarico ‘Sermon’ Promotes Abortion, Insists ‘God Is Not A Christian’ ## Questions **What did James Talarico say about Christian nationalism?** In a 2023 sermon, James Talarico described Christian nationalism as a 'sectarian movement based on mutual hate' and argued that it had co-opted the teachings of Jesus. He cited the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the January 6 Capitol storming as examples of its influence, as reported by 100PercentFedUp.com. **Which outlets reported on Talarico’s sermon?** Only the right-rated outlet 100PercentFedUp.com reported on Talarico’s 2023 sermon, according to the material supplied. No left- or centre-rated outlets published any account of the resurfaced remarks ahead of the November 2026 election. **What did Talarico say about God in his sermon?** Talarico stated that 'God is not a Christian' and described God as 'a verb' rather than a noun. He argued that God is 'love' and that religion can obstruct that love, as quoted by 100PercentFedUp.com from the resurfaced sermon. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Texas Senate candidate James Talarico criticised Christian nationalism in 2023 sermon", https://mediabias.news/politics/texas-senate-candidate-james-talarico-criticised-christian-nationalism-in-2023-s