The Religious Left Is Fighting From The Ground In Texas

In October 2023, Texas Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) delivered a sermon at his home church of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Austin. The grandson of a Baptist preacher, Talarico knows preaching, and he did not mince words.

“I’ve been a member of this church since I was two years old, and now I’m in seminary studying to become a minister myself,” he said. “My faith means more to me than anything, but if I’m being very honest, sometimes I hesitate telling someone I’m a Christian. There is a cancer on our  religion. Until we confess the sin that is Christian nationalism and exorcise it from our churches, our religion can do a lot more damage than a six-pack of Lone Star.”

Christian nationalism is vaguely defined term that encompasses several different ideologies such as Christian supremacy, belief in the divine right of a nation to act as it will, the cleansing of groups deemed antithetical to Christian ideals from the community, and belief that government should derive its authority from church structures. Few people openly identify as Christian nationalists, but it is a core belief in the far-right political power structures in Texas.

The religious left is comparatively tiny. There are no billionaire funder equivalents to the Republican party megadonors like Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks on the left pushing Christian lessons of taking care of the poor or accepting migrants. The money and subsequent political rewards is definitely in promoting Christian nationalism, not opposing it.

But the opposition does exist. Annunciation House in the Rio Grande Valley is a Catholic charity dedicated to providing shelter and legal aid to migrants. For half a century they have been unabashedly a Christian mission, deriving their lessons from the Gospel of Matthew.

Currently, they are being targeted by Texas state officials who want to end their mission. A case currently before the Texas Supreme Court will decide if left-wing Christians have the same religious freedom as right-wing ones when it comes to exercising their beliefs. Annunciation House’s mission is directly oppositional to Christian nationalism, but it is still rooted firmly in scripture.

Molly Carnes is also a dedicated Christian, a member of an Episcopalian Church in Cypress, Texas. She is also the mother of a trans girl, Ruby, whose gender identity was re-affirmed in a church liturgy ceremony. The Carnes draw strength from their religious community, leaning on faith to survive at a time when trans people are under legislative attack often in the name of being abhorrent to Christian teachings.

Carnes has been using her faith to try and get through. When she meets with state lawmakers that want to outlaw the health care her daughter uses, she asks them to pray with her first. It’s a common practice Christian nationalists use to lend weight to their pleas for anti-LGBT action, but there’s no reason Christian faith can’t push back.

Still, it’s an unfair fight. Christian nationalism in Texas has oil money and the ear of the Texas state government leadership. The religious left only has community organizing and their faith that God supports their causes.

Talarico ended his sermon remarking on how uneven the fight was.

“It is so hard to protect your spirit in a world that is trying to kill it,” he said.