Undercover video obtained by Breitbart News exposes the spiritual foundation of Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico — and it’s not what Christian voters might expect. The footage raises questions about the nature of religious leadership and political authenticity in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races, where faith and values remain central issues for the Texas electorate.
Rev. Jim Rigby, Talarico’s pastor and lifelong mentor, was caught on camera telling atheists: “If you love humanity and love nature and that’s why you hate religion then we’re on the same team.” The statement, captured in what appears to be a candid moment before a public address, suggests a theological perspective that diverges sharply from mainstream Christian teaching about the centrality of faith and religious practice.
Rigby leads St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, where Talarico has attended since he was a toddler. “He is my pastor in every sense of the word,” Talarico told the New York Times, calling Rigby one of “the biggest influences on me as a Christian, as a human being.” This longstanding relationship has clearly shaped Talarico’s own public statements about faith, which have themselves become points of contention as the Senate candidate attempts to appeal to Texas’s diverse but predominantly Christian voter base.
Rigby baptized Talarico and officiated his parents’ wedding. The depth of this multi-generational connection underscores how formative Rigby’s theological views have been in shaping the worldview of the Senate candidate now seeking to represent Texas on the national stage.
“If you love humanity and love nature and that’s why you hate religion then we’re on the same team.”
The undercover footage shows Rigby preparing to speak at an event for the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) — an organization that claims “most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion.” FFRF describes itself as the nation’s largest “freethought association” with nearly 42,000 atheists, agnostics, and skeptics. The fact that Talarico’s longtime spiritual mentor was invited to address such an organization, and apparently accepted the invitation, adds another layer of complexity to questions about the candidate’s own religious convictions and how they might influence his policy positions if elected.
In the video, Rigby reveals he’s been “on trial within the denomination for LGBT stuff, abortion and non-theist” issues. He adds casually: “We had an atheist join the church but that’s not a big deal here.” This revelation points to ongoing tensions within the broader Presbyterian denomination, suggesting that Rigby’s theological positions have generated controversy even among fellow Presbyterian clergy and leadership structures designed to maintain doctrinal standards.
According to the Times profile, Rigby refuses to use male pronouns for God — calling it a kind of “violence” to imply a girl’s brother is more like God than she is. He avoids the word “Lord” because it conjures a wealthy, European, male God. He said he doesn’t much care for the word “God” at all, preferring synonyms because “it’s going to mean something different to everybody.” This approach to religious language represents a significant departure from traditional Christian theology, which has historically maintained specific understandings of divine attributes and proper ways to address the deity, particularly within Presbyterian and Reformed traditions that emphasize scriptural authority.
The undercover footage also features Rev. Babs Miller, whose official title at St. Andrews is Minister to the Parish. Miller states bluntly: “I don’t have a need for a God.” She believes there’s “something out there that holds all this together,” but “she doesn’t see it as a God.” The presence of a minister who openly disclaims belief in God raises fundamental questions about the theological character of the church that has shaped Talarico’s spiritual formation.
“We are not a worshipping church,” Miller adds. This self-description stands in stark contrast to the understanding of church purpose held by most Christian denominations, where corporate worship of God is considered a defining and non-negotiable element of ecclesial identity.
“We are not a worshipping church.”
Miller recently told undercover cameras that Talarico is playing a political game. “I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he’ll change his tune back to where he was,” she said, according to Daily Wire reporting. This suggestion of calculated positioning for electoral advantage speaks directly to concerns about authenticity and whether voters are seeing the candidate’s genuine beliefs or a carefully crafted public persona.
Talarico has attempted to walk back some of his more controversial statements as the Senate race tightens. He said he was being “provocative” when he claimed God was non-binary. “What I was trying to say is that you can’t use human categories to define God,” he told an interviewer. The candidate’s explanations have done little to satisfy critics who question whether his theological views align with those of the Texas voters he hopes to represent, particularly in a state where traditional Christian belief remains deeply influential in political life.
Talarico faces Republican Ken Paxton in the closely watched U.S. Senate contest in November. Texas voters will decide whether a candidate mentored by a pastor who welcomes atheists and rejects traditional Christian language about God belongs in the United States Senate. The outcome may signal how the state’s electorate weighs questions of religious authenticity against other political considerations in an increasingly polarized era.
