Texas Democrat James Talarico slammed a court ruling this week allowing Texas to enforce a law requiring classrooms to display the 10 Commandments, calling it a “deeply un-Christian decision.”
He decried “Christian nationalism,” saying, “I’m a Christian, but I know that the most dangerous form of government is theocracy.”
Talarico, a Democratic Texas state representative, is running to flip one of Texas’ Senate seats blue for the first time in decades. Democrats believe Talarico has a real shot at defeating either incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn or current state Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Talarico victory would be devastating to the GOP’s hopes of retaining or expanding its Senate majority this November.
Speaking on CNN this week, Talarico condemned the decision by the federal Fifth Circuit Court. He suggested the law requiring the 10 Commandments to be displayed poses an affront to individuals in Texas who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, agnostic and atheist.
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“I don’t want anyone forcing their religion down my throat, and I certainly don’t want the government forcing a religion down my throat. So why would I do that to any of my neighbors?” he told CNN. “I think this is an unconstitutional decision, I also think this is a deeply un-Christian decision, because we are supposed to be loving all of our neighbors, particularly our neighbors of other faiths.”
In a 9–8 ruling on Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Texas law requiring public schools across the state to display the Ten Commandments. The court ruled the law does not violate either the Constitution’s Establishment Clause or the Free Exercise Clause.
The court’s majority opinion stated that “because Plaintiffs fail to show that [Texas law] S.B. 10 substantially burdens their right to religious exercise, their Free Exercise claims must be dismissed.”
However, Talarico, who is a Presbyterian seminarian in addition to a former middle school teacher, asserted that the law runs afoul of the Christian imperative to love God and love neighbor.
“My faith teaches me to love my neighbor as myself. Not just my neighbors who look like me, not just my neighbors who vote like me, not just my neighbors who pray like me. I’m called to love all of my neighbors the way I love myself. That includes my Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, agnostic and atheist neighbors,” he said.
He also decried what he referred to as “Christian nationalism,” saying, “the only thing worse than a tyrant is a tyrant who thinks they’re on a mission from God.”
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As a member of the Texas House of Representatives, Talarico has opposed the 10 Commandments bill as “idolatrous” for years.
While speaking on CNN, he ripped into Paxton for praising the ruling. Smiling, he said, “I’m not sure that Ken Paxton is in a place to lecture us on moral values.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton for comment.
Paxton, who is currently locked in a bitter primary runoff with Cornyn, had called the ruling a “major victory for Texas and our moral values.”
He said the 10 Commandments “have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day,” adding, “My office was proud to defend SB 10 and successfully ensure that the Ten Commandments will be displayed in classrooms across Texas.”
After Talarico’s dig, Paxton responded on X, writing, “James Talarico says God commands us to believe in six genders, support late-term abortion, and abuse children by ‘transitioning’ them. He’s completely and totally morally bankrupt.”
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Paxton was not the only one to slam Talarico’s take on the ruling. Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet posted on X, “Imagine being a Christian who goes on CNN to condemn putting the Ten Commandments in schools. Imagine James Talarico.”
In response, Talarico doubled down, telling Fox News Digital, “Jesus taught us to love God and love neighbor, because there is no love of God without love of neighbor. My faith teaches me to love my neighbor as myself. I don’t want the government forcing a religion down my throat.”
Talarico added that “the separation of church and state is a sacred boundary that doesn’t just benefit the state — it also benefits the church, because when the church gets too cozy with political power, it loses its prophetic voice.”
A spokesperson for Cornyn responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by saying, “We support the ruling.”
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