James Talarico claimed Islam, Christianity are ‘equal pathways to truth’

“You know, that’s how I think, you know, I always think of all of the world’s faith traditions as like a circle with that divine mystery of the universe in the middle. And we all have different names for that mystery, right? Whether it's God or Yahweh or Allah, or Nirvana, the Great Spirit, whatever you call it, this is all different pathways to the same kind of fundamental truth of reality," he added in his comments.

The assertion from Talarico drew tons of backlash on social media as the comments add to the number of claims Talarico has made about being Christian that have raised eyebrows, including that God is "nonbinary."

He has also claimed that Christianity is the "most violent religion," according to reporting from Breitbart News. In another clip he also ended a prayer on the Texas House floor with "all your many names."

“The Torah calls you Creator. The Koran calls you Peace. The Gita calls you Destroyer. The Dharma calls you Truth, and the First Epistle of John calls you perhaps the most beautiful name of all, Love,” he said at the time. He has also claimed that Islamic mystics have shaped his faith.

“I know personally that I’ve learned as much about my faith from Salman’s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” said in a 2024 podcast.

Talarico is running against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate seat that will be left open by incumbent Senator John Cornyn.