‘The return of the religious left’ preaches ‘love,’ ‘decency,’ progressive policy, but is it really Christian? 

Prominent national publications are highlighting a new tide rising from the blue wave of the midterm elections, a so-called “return of the religious left,” but others question if those who claim Christianity are actually following it. 

James Talarico’s faith and political message

New York Times columnist Ezra Klein interviewed Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico the day after his victory, calling it “one of the most exciting parts of this election” in a post on X. In the interview, Talarico, a Democrat and Presbyterian seminarian, claimed that “everyone is religious,” clarifying that “we all put our trust in something.”

He added a caveat: “You don’t have to be a Christian, you don’t even have to be part of an organized religion.”

“If we can infuse our politics with more of this, this spirituality, I think we could treat politics like a sacrament,” he said.

On election night, Talarico compared himself to King David, who, as a young shepherd boy, defeated the Philistine giant Goliath. He exhorted his audience to “love their neighbor,” which he says means free healthcare, open borders and easy access to abortions, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“2000 years ago, when the people at the top hurt his neighbors, that barefoot rabbi didn’t stay in his room and pray. He walked into the seat of power and he flipped over the tables of injustice,” Talarico said in his victory speech, referencing the biblical account of Christ turning over the tables of moneychangers who were robbing Israelites in the temple courts. “As this movement heads to the seat of power, as we head to the United States Senate, we know what this moment requires of us. Texas, it’s time to start flipping tables.”

The Democrat repeatedly told his audience to “always bet on the underdog.” The New York Times referenced his speech, saying the “type of Christianity he practices” made him an “underdog” among Christians and adding that his victory revealed “the capacious borders of Christianity” in Texas.

Adam Hamilton’s appeal to ‘decency’ and ‘love’

The Atlantic also discussed Talarico’s Democratic ally, Kansas Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, who won the Senate seat and ended a 94-year Republican streak. Hamilton is pastor of the largest United Methodist Church in the country, the Church of the Resurrection, which boasts 24,000 members across three states. Hamilton has said he plans to continue pastoring part time at his location in Leawood, Kansas, despite his role as a U.S. senator, The Atlantic reports.

“It’s that Talarico and Hamilton are both committed and prominent Christians,” reporter Peter Wehner writes. “They speak naturally about their faith, and their speeches and interviews are laced with scripture and biblical themes.”

Hamilton, like Talarico, referenced biblical stories and verses in his victory speech, but with similar caveats:

“You don’t have to believe in God to find this verse very powerful,” Hamilton said before quoting Micah 6:8, which calls men to be just, merciful and to walk humbly with God. “These are attributes that everybody needs to model in our world.”

Hamilton also told the parable of the Good Samaritan, saying his policies would focus on “loving his neighbor” – another claim Talarico shares. For Hamilton, this biblical command demonstrates “decency” and is seen “in every religion,” he said.

“I am a follower of Jesus Christ, so I read the scriptures, the Gospels in particular, and I just say, ‘Help me to live this way,’ you know. And the things that Jesus said: ‘Love your neighbors as you love yourself.’ I mean, who could disagree with that?” Hamilton told Meet the Press in an interview following his election.

His priorities in the Senate are to end the Iran war and address affordability, he said in the same interview.

Both men have voiced support for abortion and LGBTQ ideology, as Heartlander News previously reported.

While 40% of Americans are Protestant and 19% are Catholic, Hamilton and Talarico both represent the liberal views of mainline Protestantism, which accounts for approximately 11% of U.S. adults, according to a 2024 Pew Research report. Hamilton’s denomination, the United Methodist Church, accounts for less than 3% of U.S. adults. Evangelical Protestants, often more traditional and conservative Christians, make up 23% of American adults, according to Pew.

Wehner argues that Talarico’s and Hamilton’s messaging about “decency” and “love” appeals to various Christian Americans, adding that “statecraft is soulcraft.”

“Many millions of Americans, and not a few evangelicals, have been sickened by those who distort the Gospel while pretending to proclaim it,” Wehner writes, implicitly referencing GOP leaders rather than the progressive left. “Something deep and good is stirring in our land.”

What’s really Christian?

But Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, told The New York Times that Talarico’s beliefs are not Christian. 

“What James Talarico believes about the Bible and about Jesus, those beliefs don’t disqualify him from being a senator but they do disqualify him from being a Christian pastor, or even a Christian,” Jeffress said, referring in part to Talarico’s suggestion that Christianity is not the only religion that points to the truth.

Women’s sports advocate and spokesperson Riley Gaines agreed, noting the inconsistency between biblical Christian beliefs and the progressive agenda.

“If Talarico were actually a Christian, the Left would hate him,” she wrote in a post on X, responding to Talarico’s interview with The Times.

(Left photo credit: Screenshot/Facebook/James Talarico; Right photo credit: Adam Hamilton campaign website)