Rev. Babs Miller of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, James Talarico's home church, in undercover videoUndercover Videos Target Talarico's Church Over Doctrine, Politics
Left says
- •James Talarico's personal faith is theologically progressive and inclusive, drawing on a tradition within Christianity that emphasizes doubt, mystery, and social justice over rigid literalism.
- •Undercover recordings targeting clergy at his church represent a coordinated opposition-research effort designed to weaponize private theological conversations against a Senate candidate rather than engage with his policy positions.
- •Pastors and ministers routinely explore complex, unresolved theological questions in private settings, and selectively edited clips can distort nuanced discussions of faith into inflammatory soundbites.
- •Talarico has explicitly said his pastor and church leaders do not speak for him, and holding a candidate responsible for every statement made by clergy he associates with sets an unreasonable standard not applied evenly across politics.
Right says
- •Voters deserve to know the religious influences shaping a Senate candidate who has built part of his public identity around his Christian faith and cites his pastor as one of his greatest personal influences.
- •Clergy at Talarico's church have made statements rejecting core Christian doctrines, including the resurrection and the virgin birth, and disparaging evangelical Christians as unintelligent, raising questions about the values informing his worldview.
- •Separate footage suggests Talarico may be strategically softening his public positions on abortion and gender issues to appeal to moderate voters while planning to revert to more progressive stances once elected.
- •The church's history of sheltering immigrants facing deportation orders reflects a political activism that voters should factor into their understanding of Talarico's associations and values.
Common Take
High Consensus- James Talarico has publicly described Jim Rigby and his home church, St. Andrew's Presbyterian, as major influences on his faith and worldview.
- Talarico is running against Attorney General Ken Paxton for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, and religion has become a central theme in his campaign messaging.
- Multiple pastors and ministers at St. Andrew's have made public statements, on camera or on social media, questioning traditional Christian doctrines like the resurrection and virgin birth.
- St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church has a documented history of sheltering immigrants facing deportation, a fact acknowledged by church leadership itself.
The Arguments
Right argues
Because Talarico has publicly credited his pastor as one of the greatest influences on his faith and identity, voters have a legitimate interest in understanding what that pastor actually believes and teaches, especially in a heavily religious state like Texas.
Left counters
Talarico has explicitly disclaimed that his pastor speaks for him, and holding a candidate personally accountable for every private theological musing of clergy he associates with is a standard rarely applied consistently to other politicians and their religious affiliations.
Left argues
Undercover recordings of clergy in private, informal settings are designed to extract provocative soundbites from nuanced theological discussions, and using selectively edited clips to smear a candidate is opposition research dressed up as journalism, not a genuine inquiry into his policy views.
Right counters
The statements captured are not out-of-context fragments but clear, extended rejections of core Christian doctrines like the resurrection and virgin birth, and voters are entitled to weigh how a candidate's closest religious influences approach the faith he claims shapes him.
Right argues
Separate footage suggesting Talarico is strategically moderating his positions on abortion and gender issues before reverting after election, as described by his own church's minister, raises legitimate concerns about political authenticity that go beyond mere religious doctrine.
Left counters
A minister's personal speculation about what a candidate might do after winning is not evidence of the candidate's actual intentions, and treating a third party's guess as proof of secret strategy is a flimsy basis for attacking someone's integrity.
Left argues
Talarico's theology reflects a legitimate and longstanding tradition within Christianity that embraces doubt, mystery, and social justice rather than rigid literalism, and casting this as disqualifying imposes a narrow evangelical litmus test on a religiously diverse electorate.
Right counters
Regardless of theological tradition, when a candidate's pastor calls evangelicals unintelligent and compares their political vulnerability to Nazi-era manipulation, that reflects a level of contempt for a large segment of Texas voters that is fair to scrutinize.
Right argues
The church's documented history of sheltering individuals facing deportation orders reveals a pattern of political activism intertwined with Talarico's religious community that voters should factor into their assessment of his associations and values.
Left counters
Providing sanctuary to vulnerable immigrants reflects a charitable, faith-driven practice with deep historical roots in many religious traditions, and framing humanitarian aid as a political liability conflates compassion with partisan scheming.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If a candidate's disclaimer that 'my pastor doesn't speak for me' is sufficient to insulate him from scrutiny, at what point, if any, would sustained public praise of a religious mentor's influence make that mentor's teachings fair game for voters to consider?”
Left asks Right
“If undercover footage of private religious conversations is treated as legitimate evidence of a candidate's hidden character, does that same standard apply to secretly recorded conversations among conservative religious leaders, or only when it's politically convenient?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Progressive Christian commentators and outlets like Sojourners or figures such as Rev. William Barber would fully defend Rigby's theological approach as legitimate progressive Christianity; this represents maybe 10-15% of the left that would enthusiastically embrace the doubt-and-mystery framing rather than just tolerate it.
Right Fringe
Figures like Steve Deace and outlets like Blaze Media and Daily Wire push the narrative to its most aggressive extreme, framing Talarico's church as outright heretical and using terms like 'false shepherd' and 'doctrines of demons'; this fire-and-brimstone framing likely represents 20-25% of the right, with more moderate conservatives simply seeing it as a legitimate character/authenticity issue rather than a spiritual battle.
Noise Assessment
High noise ratio - this is largely a manufactured opposition-research story amplified by conservative media ecosystems (Blaze, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Townhall, Daily Signal all running near-identical pieces) during an active Senate race, suggesting coordinated messaging rather than organic public interest; general public awareness of Rigby's specific theological statements is likely low outside of politically engaged partisans.
Sources (11)
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/exclusive-hidden-camera-footage-captures-talaricos-pastor-saying-evangelical-christians-are-not-smart-and-comparing-trump-to.png?id=67818497&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=30%2C0%2C31%2C0" /><br /><br /><p>Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) has made no secret of the impact that Jim Rigby, the <a href="https://www.staopen.org/staffandleadership" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pastor</a> of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, has had on his thinking.</p><p>Talarico, the Texas Democrat now battling state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for a seat in the U.S. Senate, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told</a> the New York Times, for instance, that Rigby was one of “the biggest influences on [him] as a Christian, as a human being.”</p><p class="pull-quote">'This false shepherd managed to deny virtually every key doctrine of Christianity in less than two minutes.'</p><p>“He is my pastor in every sense of the word,” added Talarico, a part-time Presbyterian seminarian who has <a href="https://x.com/jamestalarico/status/1823862348236632392?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fought</a> to keep the Bible out of school; <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/lifestyle/james-talarico-bible-abortion" target="_self">attempted</a> to use Scripture to justify abortion; <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/talarico-and-ossoff-criticize-epstein-class-while-raking-in-cash-from-dead-pedophiles-ally" target="_self">taken money</a> from an associate of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein; <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/talaricos-christian-fascism-warning-backfires-bigly-thanks-to-his-lack-of-situational-awareness" target="_self">concern-mongered</a> about traditional Christian views; and <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/rollcall/SB14/id/1324381" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">voted</a> against sparing kids from sex-rejection mutilations.</p><p>Hidden-camera footage exclusively obtained by Blaze News appears to show that the pastor who shaped Talarico’s worldview doesn’t think too highly of evangelical Christians.</p><p>In a video dated Aug. 30, Rigby was asked by a person off-camera, “What’s wrong with evangelical Christians? Like, how do they read what they read, they claim what they claim?”</p><p><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/talarico-s-pivot-from-god-is-nonbinary-is-all-just-an-act-admits-minister-at-his-church" target="_blank">Talarico's pivot from 'God is nonbinary' is all just an act, admits minister at his church</a></strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" style="display: block; padding-top: 56.25%;"></span></p><p>The woke pastor says in response, according to the video, “My guess is that they’re people who are just not that smart in, like, abstract thinking, which is where a lot of the liberal stuff and the principles of human rights and all that stuff comes up — it’s like they just, it doesn’t show up on their radar.”</p><p>“They panic when that stuff is laid out in front of them,” Rigby stated further, according to the video. “They know there’s something they’re not seeing. It’s like they have black and white vision and somebody’s showing them [a] color photograph or something like that.”</p><p>Rigby appears to believe that President Donald Trump and even Adolf Hitler have exploited evangelicals and their allegedly simple way of thinking for political gain, claiming in the video that "what Hitler did and what Trump is doing is play off of that."</p><p>The purported Christian pastor apparently complained further about evangelicals’ beliefs in the supernatural, specifically in hell, angels, and demons, suggesting that such beliefs are irrational.</p><p>“The church is a huge part of the problem — teaching people from the cradle that things are true because you believe them,” Rigby says, according to the video.</p><p>“<a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/blaze-originals-understanding-hell-part-one" target="_self">A belief in hell</a> shuts everything down, because when you think that you could be tortured for all eternity, and you believe in demons and angels and stuff like this, you can’t stay rational for long.”</p><p>Rigby adds, according to the video, “If you think that supernatural beings are affecting things, good logic wouldn’t make any sense.”</p><p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/texas/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According</a> to the most recent Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, 27% of adults in Texas identify as evangelical Protestants.</p><p>Evangelicals are, however, hardly the only Christians who believe in the existence of hell, angels, and demons.</p><p>A 2021 Pew survey <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/views-on-the-afterlife/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">found</a> that 62% of all American adults and 69% of all American Christians believe in hell. A 2023 Gallup survey <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/508886/belief-five-spiritual-entities-edges-down-new-lows.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">found</a> that 69% of Americans believe in angels and 58% believe in the devil.</p><p>“It's not surprising an open and avowed heretic like James Talarico goes to a church led by fellow heretics,” BlazeTV host Steve Deace said in a statement to Blaze News, after reviewing the footage. “What is surprising, though, is how this false shepherd managed to deny virtually every key doctrine of Christianity in less than two minutes.”</p><p>“You have to be really committed to doctrines of demons and detesting Christ and His Word to display that level of deception masquerading as conviction,” added Deace.</p><p><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/undercover-pac-soros-talarico-vote" target="_blank">UNDERCOVER VIDEO: 'Shady as f**k' scheme paid people to vote for Talarico in 'roundabout way,' Soros PAC leader caught admitting</a></strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-16x9"> <img alt="" class="rm-shortcode" id="eab29" src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=67818372&width=1245&height=700&quality=50&coordinates=0%2C100%2C0%2C7" /><small class="image-media media-photo-credit">Brandon Bell/Getty Images</small></p><p>Rigby has issued plenty of other remarks that Talarico might want to distance himself from in the final months of his campaign. The pastor, who <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/james-talarico-next-great-hope-texas-democrats/" target="_blank">expressed hope</a> that Talarico would follow in his footsteps at St. Andrew’s, has, for instance, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4498225/james-talaricos-mentor-preached-about-true-jihad-at-pro-palestinian-rally/" target="_blank">made headlines</a> for calling for a “true jihad” at a pro-Palestine rally; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid02uhYCgw7DsiFWPftJPz7Dz8AYLJgH7Lf1YqFCaJzpgMw5D1E38KHp91Sur3Wydc2dl" target="_blank">rejected belief</a> in a literal resurrection; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid032fQ3jdktpqNEhLFo2cwR22Ze6aGy8iGLD7AzD9vNYk2b9T9mdHa63euHwoAraSqFl" target="_blank">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid07qBWUQJa4mzzMR7wEZjZWWvUzqLzX4JVJpCj5Y9Di6L7BP7LijQwCGovVPGxoKf3l" target="_blank">cast doubt</a> on whether Christ rose from the dead; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid0hdPpS63MNUT54q96odvbcsjRSEhEJuLBHduLJsE5FkLTTaGYxZT8Z1Lbo6fBGxXdl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">emphasized</a> that he doesn’t “believe Christianity is the only way, or even the best way for many people”; and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid02WzTwVzeKaUqGiupHbZUFTJPvYyk7USPehc8R8H185ys8bEfWP1fifs1K72QDFHval" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">expressed discomfort</a> with the use of the word “God.”</p><p>Rigby and the Talarico campaign did not respond to requests for comment from Blaze News.</p><p>While supportive of Talarico, his message, and his candidacy, Rigby <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/pfbid02p3FdyiNhCNxrWUJcub6Gcrn6UGe5JKPjg7Qbn3eGFMWfAMqPqz1kAoNYPwUryabTl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noted</a> earlier this year, “I do not speak for him and he owes no one an explanation for things I have said.”</p><p>Despite noting that they do not speak with one voice, Rigby’s influence on Talarico is unmistakable — particularly in his eagerness to criticize Christians and mainstream Christianity.</p><p>Talarico <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/activist-theology/navigating-love-legislature-ms2IdMyqwre/#google_vignette" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">noted</a>, for example, in a March 2021 episode of the “Activist Theology” podcast that despite always getting "drawn back" in, “I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.”</p><p>Paxton has <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2060787817077223747?s=20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stressed</a> that Talarico "is a threat to our values, our way of life, and the future of Texas."</p><p><em>Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. </em><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/newsletters/theblaze-articlelink" target="_self"><em>Sign up here</em></a><em>!</em></p>
<p>Controversial pastor Rev. Jim Rigby, head of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, and mentor to Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico, once rejected the entire cornerstone of the Gospel, stating during an Easter message that Jesus may have not risen from the dead and that, perhaps, Jesus's conquest over death should not be taken literally.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/23/james-talaricos-pastor-and-mentor-doubts-resurrection-of-jesus-in-easter-message-maybe-jesus-rose-from-the-dead-but-maybe-not/" rel="nofollow">James Talarico’s Pastor and Mentor Doubts Resurrection of Jesus in Easter Message: ‘Maybe Jesus Rose from the Dead, but Maybe Not’</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
A lesbian minister at James Talarico’s longtime church doubts Jesus ever existed, rejects the virgin birth, and believes Christ “didn’t die to save our sins,” according to undercover footage obtained by The Daily Wire. Rev. Babs Miller, minister to the parish at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin, flatly rejected core tenets of the Christian ...
Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico’s longtime church has a history of shielding illegal immigrants from arrest and deportation, according to a review of its website and previous statements. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin began housing Hilda Ramirez, who had received a deportation order, and her son, Ivan, in 2016 as they hid from ...
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A Texas reverend whom state Rep. James Talarico said had an impact on him as a Christian has been caught on camera saying that evangelical Christians are not smart. Talarico, a Democrat who is in a highly contested race against Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Texas U.S. Senate seat, has said that the...
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