The Gospel according to James Talarico

Published February 20, 2026 8:00am ET



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Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico is rapidly building a national profile for his brand of progressive Christianity — leveraging viral media appearances to promote a left-leaning interpretation of the faith. Earlier this week, he visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to argue that abortion should be deemphasized by Christians because Jesus never mentioned it in the Gospels.

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