Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said many white churches do not reflect the Jesus described in the Gospels and argued that black churches have a “deeper and more accurate” understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
Speaking on the September 2024 podcast titled “Holy Conversation: Faith and Politics,” Talarico said too many white churches focus on the afterlife instead of on “freeing the oppressed and healing the sick and feeding the hungry.”
“Too many white churches are focused on the afterlife and not really much on this life,” Talarico said. “In my opinion, a lot of white churches don’t resemble the Jesus we meet in the Gospels of being out in the world, of freeing the oppressed and healing the sick and feeding the hungry.”
Talarico also praised black churches, saying they have a better understanding of what it means to follow Jesus than many white churches.
“And in the black churches that I’ve been in, they, I think because of their position in this country historically and currently, have a much deeper and more accurate understanding of what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century,” Talarico continued. “So I’m glad that we are learning from black churches. I know my church has up in North Austin, and it sounds like this church is.”
Talarico has criticized Christianity. Earlier this year, the Texas state representative and Presbyterian seminarian told The New Yorker that Christianity is the “most violent” religion and has caused “damage” to Islam.
He has opposed President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions on people from terrorism-prone countries and expressed support for Muslim communities. During remarks to the Pakistani American Council of Texas, Talarico condemned Trump’s restrictions on travel from countries identified as hotspots for radical Islamic terrorism, calling the president “a threat to all of us” and saying he stood with his “Muslim brothers and sisters.”
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