Rainn Wilson says Talarico's Christianity is 'achingly close' to Jesus'

Podcast commentary reignites debate over Talarico's faith

Actor Rainn Wilson, known for his role on "The Office," said during his "Soul Boom" podcast that Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico's Christianity is "achingly close" to Jesus' "brand of Christianity," according to Fox News. Wilson and New York Times journalist Ezra Klein used the platform to criticize what they called hypocrisy from Texas GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton and his supporters for attacking Talarico despite their "aggressively professed Christianity."

"Whenever I watch these attacks, I think, 'You all would have hated Jesus Christ,'" Klein said. "You would have found him to be the most annoying, weepy, worrying about the wrong people — the outsiders, the outcasts…" Wilson joked, "Grow a pair, Jesus."

Klein, who is Jewish, and Wilson, who subscribes to the Bahá'í Faith, said they were not against Christians as a whole, with Wilson describing many of them as the most "caring" and "compassionate" people he's met. Klein framed the criticism around Talarico specifically: "Well, that's why I frame this around Talarico, because Talarico is Christian. That's the point, that it is his Christianity they hate." Wilson responded, "His brand of Christianity, which is so, so achingly close to Jesus' brand of Christianity."

Criticism of contemporary Christianity

Klein and Wilson also criticized "contemporary Christianity" for what they said was a focus on sexuality rather than greed. Klein quoted Jesus' teaching, "It is harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven," and added, "And then you're cutting taxes on the rich and obsessed with who's f---ing whom." Wilson said, "Yeah. Jesus didn't talk about who's f---ing whom. He really didn't. The hypocrisy of contemporary Christianity is astonishing."

Conservative response

Fox News Digital reported that Christian author Frank Turek disputed Wilson's characterization, accusing Talarico of defending "the murder of the unborn" and "sexualization of children." Turek said calling Talarico's Christianity "achingly close" to Jesus is "a war on the reality of who Jesus is." Fox News Digital also reached out to Talarico's and Paxton's campaigns for comment.

Talarico, a Texas state representative, has touted his religious background and faced criticism for his progressive views, including support for abortion and transgender rights. A resurfaced 2025 clip showed Talarico attacking a Texas bill requiring schools to teach Bible stories as historical fact, calling it "propaganda" and "deeply immoral."

Talarico's sermon and the broader context

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that in early July Talarico preached on the proper place of religion in politics, arguing for the separation of church and state while emphasizing that religion could inform politics. He stressed that Christianity should shape the tone of one's politics and drew on the Parable of the Good Samaritan to argue that loving one's neighbor includes respecting people of different faiths. This message "raised the ire" of Paxton and many evangelicals, who questioned the legitimacy of his faith, but earned applause from Christian conservative David French, who contrasted Talarico with MAGA Christian politicians.

The Inquirer noted that Talarico is not alone: a dozen ordained Christian ministers are currently running for public office as Democrats, including Lutheran Pastor Sarah Trone Garriott of Iowa's Third Congressional District and United Methodist Pastor Adam Hamilton of Kansas' U.S. Senate race. These politicians, including Talarico, Trone Garriott, and Hamilton, have situated their Christianity at the core of their identity. While this was common a century ago with figures like William Jennings Bryan and Barbara Jordan, today's candidates represent a departure from the trend of the past four decades.

The Inquirer traced the historical shift: before the 1980s, candidates conversant in religion were common. In the 1970s, most white evangelicals were Democrats and helped elect Jimmy Carter in 1976, dubbed the "Year of the Evangelical." Their rejection of Carter in 1980 signaled a shift toward the Republican Party. By 1972, 24% of Democratic National Convention delegates identified as agnostic, atheist, or non-church attending, compared to 5% of Americans who listed "no religion" on the General Social Survey. The IRS's 1978 targeting of mostly white private schools, sometimes called "segregation academies," and the galvanizing of evangelical activists around Roe v. Wade (1973), along with the attention from Francis Schaeffer and Jerry Falwell Sr.'s Moral Majority in the 1980 election, contributed to the realignment.

The Inquirer noted that mainline Protestants declined from 30% of Americans in 1975 to between 9% and 13% today, while the number of religiously unaffiliated rose to nearly 30%. Black churches maintained relevance, with 53% of African Americans still associated with historically Black Protestant churches. Evangelicals shifted from a slight Democratic majority to a reliable Republican core, growing to nearly 30% of Americans by the end of the 20th century. The Democratic Party became less beholden to religious demographics, except the African American wing, where Christianity remained central. Sen. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, is not exceptional as a Black politician with ministerial credentials.

Barack Obama in 2004 called attention to the dearth of religiously-conversant Democratic politicians, and after 2008 Democratic outreach to religious voters declined, frustrating activists like Michael Wear by 2016. Wheaton College Professor Esau McCaulley argues the emergence of these politicians is linked to backlash against MAGA evangelicals. Most of the 12 ordained Democratic candidates are running in Midwest or Southern states, except Presbyterian Pastor Matt Schultz of Alaska.

Perspectives

Rainn Wilson and Ezra Klein: They argue Talarico's Christianity aligns closely with Jesus' teachings, and criticize conservative opponents for hypocrisy in attacking him despite professing Christianity.

Frank Turek and conservative critics: They dispute that Talarico's views are authentically Christian, pointing to his support for abortion and transgender rights and his rejection of school Bible curriculum, and argue that calling such views "achingly close" to Jesus distorts the reality of who Jesus is.