On the campaign trail, Democrat candidate James Talarico often describes his faith as “biblical Christianity.&#8221; But the Senate hopeful once credited Islamic mystics with shaping his faith just as much as Christian writers, audio unearthed by The Daily Wire reveals.
In a recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">interview</a> with The New York Times, Talarico asserted that his faith was rooted in “biblical Christianity.” During an appearance on The State of Belief podcast in April 2024 alongside Muslim state Rep. Salman Bhojani, Talarico praised Islam for shaping his religious beliefs. Those comments could come into play as debate heats up in Texas about Islam&#8217;s growing presence in the state. 
“I know personally that I&#8217;ve learned as much about my faith from Salman&#8217;s tradition, from the Islamic mystics, from poets like Rumi, as much as I have from Christian authors and Christian writers,” he said. “This kind of interfaith dialogue, it doesn&#8217;t water down your tradition, in fact it strengthens it, it brings out new flavors and new colors.” 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Faith and Public Service with Texas Reps Salman Bhojani and James Talarico" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ph72LCduP8I?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Talarico later quoted the 13th-century Islamic mystic as saying “in every religion there is love, yet love has no religion.”
Talarico, looking to become the first Democrat to win statewide election in Texas in decades, has faced much scrutiny over his leftist version of Christianity and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">uber-woke</a> church he attends in Austin. That scrutiny comes as the legacy media speculated that Talarico could sway Christian voters who ordinarily vote Republican.
On the 2024 podcast, Talarico celebrated Bhojani’s election as the “true fruition of multi-racial, multicultural, multi-religious democracy” and “a threat to those who don&#8217;t believe in a pluralistic democracy” and “those who are pushing a sectarian exclusive Christian nationalist vision for our country.” He also said that “Texas is proud to be the home of more Muslim Americans than any other state in the union” and that advocating for the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms was “deeply unchristian.”
The creep of Islamic ideology into Texas has been a hot issue over the last few years, with Governor Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-welcome-in-our-state-texas-governor-designates-radical-muslim-groups-as-foreign-terrorists">designating</a> the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a foreign terrorist organization in November 2025. Abbott accused CAIR of attempting to impose Sharia law on the Lone Star State. State officials have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-says-its-halted-construction-of-muslim-centered-epic-city-outside-dallas">moved</a> to challenge planned Islamic cities, keep schools promoting Sharia law from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-bans-schools-tied-to-americas-adversaries-from-education-freedom-program">receiving</a> state dollars, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-of-americas-most-iconic-symbols-now-islamic-the-new-history-fight">pushed</a> backs on efforts to brand the Alamo as an “Islamic building.” 
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-audio-thats-blowing-a-hole-in-talaricos-christian-persona">describes</a> himself as a “Christian who hates Christianity,” has said he believes God is “nonbinary” and that Jesus was a “radical feminist.” During a recent commencement speech at Paul Quinn College, Talarico appeared indifferent to whether people believed in God or attended church. 
“I&#8217;m not asking you to join an organized religion. I&#8217;m asking you to join something bigger than yourself. Find a spiritual practice that works for you, whether it&#8217;s meditation or fasting, gardening, or bird watching, whether it&#8217;s in a church, or a temple, or a book club, or a neighborhood group, find a community that can help you touch the ground of your own being.”

Democratic Senate Candidate Talarico Participates In Juneteenth March

James Talarico Says ‘Islamic Mystics’ Shaped His Faith ‘As Much’ As Christians

2026 Midterms

Christianity

Islam

James Talarico

Politics

Senate

Texas

An LGBTQ activist is doubling down, blaming white men after a Muslim man with known Islamist associations rammed a vehicle into Berlin’s Pride festival on Saturday before attacking bystanders with a machete, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
A viral video circulating online shows an <a href="https://x.com/iAnonPatriot/status/2081229875361325146?s=20">unidentified pink-haired woman</a> lamenting not the terror attack, but the public&#8217;s reaction to it.
“I&#8217;m getting really, really sick of this. I&#8217;m getting really tired of having to repeat myself over and over again,” she said. “So the suspect is an Islamic extremist. That&#8217;s their suspect right now. That&#8217;s what I read. Okay, I&#8217;m not going to say anything about the rest of the Muslim population because of actions of this one person.”
Then, the leftist shifted her focus and hurled unfounded accusations towards another demographic: white Christian men.
“But what I can say is the people who were celebrating about this were all white men, young white men with crosses in their profiles because we&#8217;ve all seen it. We&#8217;ve all seen how you guys react towards gay people, and how you wish harm on them constantly,” she said. “I get a constant hate on my videos, especially about trans people. You&#8217;re not going to hide behind another scapegoat group and pretend that they&#8217;re actually the violent ones when it&#8217;s you.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
OMG. Liberal women are blaming “white men” for the Islamic extremist who ran over people at an LGBTQ parade in Berlin.
“You’re not going to scapegoat the Muslim community like they’re the violent ones, when it’s actually you (white men).”
Can’t make this sht up. 💀💀 <a href="https://t.co/0nbsKYgqys">pic.twitter.com/0nbsKYgqys</a>
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) <a href="https://x.com/iAnonPatriot/status/2081229875361325146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
The woman claimed white Christian men share the same ideology as Abdul Ballout, who police say deliberately drove a white van into Berlin’s Tiergarten Park around 10 p.m., killing one woman and injuring at least 29 others before attacking festival goers with what authorities said may have been a machete. The 21-year-old convicted terrorist had previously attempted to join the Islamic State in Syria and was released from German custody just months before Saturday’s attack, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/known-islamic-terrorist-on-the-run-unleashed-machete-attack-after-plowing-van-into-crowd?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Known+Islamic+Terrorist+On+The+Run+Unleashed+Machete+Attack+After+Plowing+Van+Into+Crowd">The Daily Wire reported</a>.
Migration levels in the European Union remain high, with approximately <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260227-1">4.2 million</a> immigrants arriving in 2024 and total foreign-born residents reaching roughly 64 million. Spain and Germany recorded the largest absolute numbers of new arrivals, according to the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Migration_to_and_from_the_EU">European Commission</a>.
“You hold the same exact beliefs that this man who did this attack did, and you&#8217;re trying to distance yourself from it. And you know why you&#8217;re trying to do that? Because you&#8217;re ashamed, and you should be,” she said in the video.
The passionate defense highlights the growing, confounding alliance between LGBT activist groups and Islamic ideology in Western countries.
“Ahmad attacks people at a Pride Parade because Islam. White liberal woman with aposematic hair coloring concludes white men are to blame. Suicidal Empathy is a fatal disease of the human spirit,” Gad Saad, an evolutionary behavioral scientist, <a href="https://x.com/GadSaad/status/2081359046775275807?s=20">said</a> on X.
“Queers for Palestine real quiet about this one,” Kangmin Lee, a conservative digital content creator, <a href="https://x.com/kangminlee/status/2081243091629904336?s=20">reacted</a> on social media.
Germany’s latest terror attack, which is said to have left a “horrific scene,” left Pride attendees reeling, including Ricarda Hofmann, a presenter at one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ celebrations.  “What happened today has changed something in me,” she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DbPTNq6iDz4/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">wrote on Instagram</a>.
On Sunday, organizers of the Berlin Pride festival vowed not to allow the Islamic terror attack to be used &#8220;for political ends.&#8221;
&#8220;People are trying to divide our society and set some people against others. As the CSD in Berlin, we will not allow this,&#8221; a representative for the group <a href="https://x.com/SkyNews/status/2081393662244646936?s=20">said</a> at a press conference.

NYC Pride

WATCH: Pink-Haired LGBT Activist Blames White Christian Men For Islamic Terror Attack

Berlin

Christian

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Identity Politics

LGBT

LGBTQ

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Radical Islam

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Terrorism

I started with a joke. Late one night I floated a theory in a comment section, mostly to see who I&#8217;d offend. The theory was this: Your slot in Christianity — Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, charismatic, whatever — might have less to do with your theology than with your personality. Put another way, maybe your Myers-Briggs type predicts your pew.
So I built a grid. Sixteen types, sixteen streams. ENFJ, the one who thinks everyone can be reached, runs on mission and warmth. Methodist. INTJ loves Calvinism because the logic is airtight. Reformed, obviously — Jonathan Edwards with a study Bible and a spreadsheet. ENFP needs to feel it. Hands up, eyes closed, front row of the charismatic service. ISTJ wants order, duty, and a really good liturgy. Missouri Synod Lutheran. ESTP shows up to the megachurch, gets inspired, and is in the car before the closing song.
I called it half-formed and possibly very wrong and invited the whole comment section to tell me I&#8217;d lost it. But it wasn&#8217;t only a bit. It started with something I&#8217;d been chewing on for a while.
Why was everyone at my church so introverted? They liked me. They just seemed to want me to sit beside them in a class rather than actually talk, which, it turns out, is how introverts bond. I am not one. I have 4,000 names in my phone.
We have never trusted personality tests more than we do right now. By the test maker&#8217;s own count, <a href="https://www.themyersbriggs.com/en-US/Test-Pages/Statistics">88% of Fortune 500 companies</a> have run their people through the Myers-Briggs. Around two million take it every year. McKinsey uses it. Federal agencies use it. Somewhere in your office, there&#8217;s a color-coded chart of everyone&#8217;s DiSC type taped to a wall.
The church went all in too. Walk into a mid-sized church, and the leadership team has done StrengthsFinder. The small groups are working through Enneagram books. Some church-planting networks now fold personality tests into how they screen the guys they send out. We took a nine-pointed diagram a mystic named Gurdjieff brought west a century ago and dropped it into the new members&#8217; class.
None of it is settled science. Take the same test twice, and you can come out a different letter. People admit this, cheerfully, and take it again anyway. We trust these things enough to hire with them, to build teams with them, and to plant churches with them.
And we never once get mad about them. No one has ever said &#8220;screw that guy for being an ISTJ.&#8221; Nobody storms out over a DiSC profile. Your StrengthsFinder top five has never started a fight in a parking lot. Your Enneagram number is allowed to just be your number.
Then we get to denomination, and the grace runs out. We&#8217;ll go to war over that one. Split churches. Write 4,000-word takedowns of men we&#8217;ve never met. &#8220;To hell with that guy,&#8221; as long as &#8220;that guy&#8221; is a Catholic. Or a Calvinist. Or a charismatic.
This made me wonder if we&#8217;ve been aiming at the wrong target the whole time, if the tag we&#8217;re ready to damn each other over is sitting right on top of the one we&#8217;d never say a word about. So I went looking to see if anyone had actually studied it. Turns out someone spent 30 years on it.
<h4>The professor who counted the pews</h4>
His name is Leslie Francis. He&#8217;s a professor at the University of Warwick, an ordained minister, and the author of a <a href="https://www.lincolnbishop.ac.uk/staff/revd-canon-professor-leslie-j-francis">small library of peer-reviewed studies</a> on personality and religion. He took thousands of pastors and churchgoers, ran them through psychological type measures, and published his findings in journals with names like Mental Health and Religion &amp; Culture. And the pattern he found is the one I was joking about.
Churchgoers are not a random sample of humanity. They lean hard toward one temperament. Sensing and Judging: the SJ. The dutiful, the orderly, the people who show up early and bring the casserole. Among American Catholic priests, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11089-012-0483-7">more than a quarter test as ISTJ</a>. In the general male population, it&#8217;s about one in six. The people running to the altar are wired a certain way before they ever get there. And a lot of them are introverted, the ones who&#8217;d rather you take the seat beside them than start a conversation. My church wasn&#8217;t the weird one; I was.
<h4>Same church. Same theology. Different brains.</h4>
Here&#8217;s the part that stopped me. For his cleanest test, Francis used a big denomination that fits two very different churches under one roof. On one side, the sermon-first churches. Bible-centered, plain, practical. Give me the text and the application. On the other, the ritual-first churches. Ceremony, reverence, mystery, a service that carries you more than it explains things to you.
If you grew up mainline Protestant in the Midwest, you already know this split. It&#8217;s the contemporary service and the traditional service. These services are in the same church, sometimes the same building. The sermon-first room has the drum kit, the lyrics on a screen, and a pastor in untucked flannel. The ritual-first room has the organ, the hymnal, and the order of worship your grandma would recognize.
Then the researchers counted who sat in each. In the sermon-first churches, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-anglican-studies/article/abs/church-tradition-and-psychological-type-preferences-among-anglicans-in-england/5433914B1E79354AFFEE9CF5C6C32A64">83% tested as Sensing types</a>. Concrete, literal, and practical. In the ritual-first churches, that dropped to 69%. The room filled up with Intuitives. The people who reach for symbol, mystery, the thing behind the thing. Same denomination. Two personalities, sorted by whether the church has an organ or a fog machine.
And before you say it&#8217;s really just theology in disguise, they checked. In a follow-up study of more than a thousand pastors, the same split <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/jet/26/1/article-p22_2.xml?language=en">held up even after the researchers controlled</a> for how conservative and how charismatic each person was. Strip out the theology, and the personality gap is still there. Their own conclusion was that it tracks a preference for a style of worship, not a doctrine.
The organ people and the fog-machine people were sorting themselves by temperament. They just called it conviction.
<h4>It keeps going</h4>
Francis&#8217;s team has a profile for charismatics, too. Higher charismatic orientation lines up with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/27691616.2026.2652951">Extraversion, Feeling, and Perceiving</a>. The exact wiring of the person who wants to feel the room, follow the moment, and isn&#8217;t watching the clock. My ENFP card, more or less, sitting in a peer-reviewed table.
Studies of brand-new churches, the kind meeting in a school gym or a movie theater, find they pull <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349323834_Psychological_type_and_psychological_temperament_differences_between_worshipers_at_new_churches_and_established_ones">more Intuitives, more Extraverts, and more Perceivers</a> than the established church down the road. The startup guy in the room, basically.
The science is cleaner than my original joke. It doesn&#8217;t say INTJ equals Presbyterian. It says the sensing-intuition axis maps onto ritual-versus-sermon. It says the dutiful SJ fills the traditional pew. It says the feelers chase the charismatic moment. And nearly all of it is British data on Protestants, so stretching it over a Texas megachurch is my leap, not theirs.
But the spine of the joke was right, and a British professor spent three decades proving it.
<h4>So what do you do with a theory like this</h4>
Here&#8217;s the uncomfortable part. If the stream you&#8217;re in is partly a function of how your brain came wired, a few of our favorite arguments look smaller.
The Bible-church guy who thinks the liturgy crowd is soft is, in part, a Sensing preference sneering at an Intuitive one. The traditionalist who finds the megachurch shallow is, in part, an Intuitive wrinkling his nose at a room full of Sensors having a perfectly nice time. We dress our temperament up as discernment, and we call our comfort zone orthodoxy.
None of this makes anybody&#8217;s theology wrong. Calvinism isn&#8217;t false because it flatters the INTJ. Beauty isn&#8217;t a gimmick because Intuitives can&#8217;t live without it. Whether a thing is true and who&#8217;s drawn to it are two different questions, and the studies don&#8217;t touch the first one.
But it brings me back to where I started. We forgive each other every other label. The Enneagram four gets to be dramatic. The ISTJ gets to color-code the church directory, and we call it a spiritual gift. Denomination is the one tag we damn each other over, and it might be the one sitting closest to the wiring we already agreed to forgive.
I&#8217;m not asking anyone to stop believing their tradition is the right one. I believe mine is. But it&#8217;s worth holding the possibility that the believer across town isn&#8217;t your enemy or your project. He might just be a different type, hearing the same gospel in a different key, sitting in the pew that fits how he was built.
***
Seth Tower Hurd writes The Five, a twice-weekly newsletter covering the news and culture stories that don&#8217;t make the front page. Find it at <a href="http://sethtowerhurd.substack.com">sethtowerhurd.substack.com</a>.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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The Hidden Force Shaping Where Christians Worship

Upstream

Alexandra Ashcroft amassed nearly 1 million fans of her tarot card readings and astrology practices on TikTok. But after she found Christianity, she abruptly shut down her account, sacrificing viral status for salvation.
Formerly known as Alex Reads Tarot on TikTok, Ashcroft was so popular she was name-dropped in “<a href="https://youtu.be/29UawRk5nDc?list=RD29UawRk5nDc&amp;t=146">Love Me Different</a>” by Paramore singer Hayley Williams: Endless scrolling up ‘til 3, Alex Reads Tarot reads the sh*t out of me. Williams later <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DaHCWSRRyx4/">amended</a> the line in a live performance as: Alex Reads Tarot, oh my God, R.I.P.
Ashcroft’s departure was a shock to her community. She broke the news of her spiritual awakening in a post. “I noticed that as my faith grew, I began to find myself wrestling with questions that I couldn’t quite ignore,” <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/influencers/tiktok-tarot-reader-alex-reads-tarot-loses-thousands-of-followers-after-revealing-shes-following-jesus-c-22501066">she said</a>.
“Over the past nearly a year, my faith has become the most important thing in my life. Through that journey, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting, questioning, praying, and trying to understand my faith more and where God was starting to lead me. This hasn’t been an overnight change. This has been a gradual journey that has slowly changed the way that I see my life and my faith.”
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@whatstrending/video/7655111842905230606" data-video-id="7655111842905230606">
<section><a title="@whatstrending" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@whatstrending?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@whatstrending</a> The internet is completely losing it over Alex Reads Tarot (@yourfiresignbestie)   She just wiped her entire platform, rebranded to @alexintheordinary, and announced she is completely leaving the spiritual space because &#8220;Jesus Christ has saved my life.&#8221;   Now, the entire community is in a total frenzy.   Major creators are calling her out, demanding she delete her account entirely instead of keeping a massive following she built off tarot readings to launch her new religious journey.👀   Let’s settle this in the comments: Is it completely gross to pivot an entire following instead of starting over from scratch? Or should people just let her live? . . . <a title="alexreadstarot" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/alexreadstarot?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#alexreadstarot</a> <a title="alexintheordinary" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/alexintheordinary?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#alexintheordinary</a> <a title="yourfiresignbestie" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/yourfiresignbestie?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#yourfiresignbestie</a> <a title="witchtok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/witchtok?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#witchtok</a> <a title="whatstrending" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whatstrending?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#whatstrending</a> <a title="♬ original sound - WhatsTrending" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7655111967031479054?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound &#8211; WhatsTrending</a></section>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
She then vowed to stop posting occult-related content, immediately retooling her social media handles to read “Alex The Ordinary” and “<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@alexcourageinchrist">Alex Courage In Christ,</a>” where wands, cups, and swords were replaced by personal testimony and Bible passages. It was a total 180 from the goldmine that made her famous. She lost <a href="https://www.facebook.com/christianvideo.kenosis/posts/popular-tiktok-creator-alex-reads-tarot-lost-over-30000-followers-in-48-hours-af/1981556885974121/">30,000 followers</a> in a matter of hours.
“I don’t know exactly what comes next for me,” <a href="https://cbn.com/news/world/ex-psychics-advice-tiktok-star-alex-reads-tarot-who-renounced-occult-jesus">Ashcroft noted</a>, “But what I do know is that Jesus Christ has saved my life, and I can no longer ignore that reality.”
Comments on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@whatstrending/video/7655111842905230606">her video</a> were brutal, with one reading, “To be honest, I never got a good vibe from her,” and another stating, “Immediately unfollowed and blocked her.”
On Reddit, a debate erupted over whether tarot was even considered to be a sin, with some claiming that divination, playing cards, and Christ can coexist. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/tiktokgossip/comments/1uf8tac/comment/otujwuk/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">Someone</a> suggested, “It truly seems like she is in full blown religious psychosis. It&#8217;s extreme and really sad to see.” <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/tiktokgossip/comments/1uf8tac/comment/ott7luk/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">Another claimed</a>, “She’s fallen down the alt right pipeline.” On another thread, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TarotReadersOfReddit/comments/1ueo848/comment/oto345m/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">one user</a> warned, “A sudden pivot to Christianity is never a good sign.”
But believers welcomed Ashcroft’s evolution with open arms. Host of the “Relatable” podcast <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=26368829009460299">Allie Beth Stuckey</a> posted, “Please pray for Alex … Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill her with the peace that passes all understanding, and would give her the strength that’s needed … People who are making money from bad, sinful content, it’s so hard for them to give that up.”
On <a href="https://www.facebook.com/christianvideo.kenosis/posts/popular-tiktok-creator-alex-reads-tarot-lost-over-30000-followers-in-48-hours-af/1981556885974121/">Facebook</a>, a fan shared, “She lost 30,000 haters and gained the realest love there is.”
“I used to do tarot and my crystals and deity, but guess what, God has brought me things that stuff never could,” another <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@whatstrending/video/7655111842905230606">TikToker</a> added. “He’s taught me more than that stuff could. Now my blessings are 10x more and I’m even more at peace. Don’t knock it till you try it. God is good.”
While speculation continues to circulate as to the real reason behind her change of heart, some who share a similar journey to Ashcroft’s are opening up about walking away from dark spiritual practices. 
One former psychic, Jenn Nizza, offered her perspective on Ashcroft’s transformation. Now a born-again believer, she recalled how mystic cards were for her a “gateway into the demonic,” first gaining a foothold when she was just a curious 13-year-old. 
“When Jesus first called me, first started to draw me, I was a psychic medium,” she told the <a href="https://cbn.com/news/world/ex-psychics-advice-tiktok-star-alex-reads-tarot-who-renounced-occult-jesus">Christian Broadcasting Network</a>. “When Jesus first started drawing me out of that darkness, it was not an instant deliverance; it was a process. At the end of that 10-month journey … Jesus fully set me free and I became born again. [I] accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and believed in the Gospel.”
But Nizza knows the straight-and-narrow isn’t always easy to walk. “Even though the enemy will come at you, the enemy comes at Christians as a whole, the church as a whole, you have the victory in Christ,” she noted in support of Ashcroft’s next chapter. “Never look back, because what you’ve put behind yourself could never have measured up to Jesus. Nothing is better than Jesus. Always reach out when you need support and help.”
While Ashcroft continues to battle criticism in the weeks following her initial announcement, she seems to be restructuring her following by leveraging biblical truths — at least, it seems, what she understands of them so far.
“I cannot say sorry for finding Jesus,” she posted to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@alexcourageinchrist/photo/7664984745859730710">TikTok</a>. “He opened my eyes to the reality of the spiritual world.”
“When I speak out against witchcraft now, it doesn’t come from a place of malice or forgetting where I came from. It comes from a place of deep love,” she wrote. “When you encounter the ultimate truth, you naturally want the people you care about to see it, too. I accept that this truth causes friction, but my silence would mean I don’t care about your soul, and I care too much to stay quiet.” 
***
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Viral TikTok Star Explains Why She Turned Against Witchcraft

alex reads tarot

A frightening monster in theaters this summer doesn’t hide in a closet (but it just might force you to). It takes the form of the person you love most and comes for you precisely because you love him.
That’s the conceit behind &#8220;Leviticus,&#8221; the Australian horror film that has arrived in American cinemas to mostly critical praise. It’s set in a remote, Christian town so fundamentalist that it smacks of caricature. When a romantic relationship between two young men is discovered, the community subjects them to a deliverance ritual meant to burn their desire away. But the rite instead summons a presence that appears to each boy as the other, hunting him whenever his longing stirs. 
Cleverly, “Leviticus” depicts an inverse exorcism: Conversion therapy is not shown as removing a harmful spirit, but as introducing a spirit of fear and shame that results in death. Making the indictment broader than conversion therapy, director Adrian Chiarella says the monster stands for homophobia “in all its shades.” Considering the film’s title, Chiarella indicts the entire biblical ethic that sex belongs only within the marriage of one man and one woman as deadly. 
Ironically, the film’s caricature is self-indicting as it mirrors overgeneralizations happening in law and culture. This past March, in Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme Court ruled eight to one, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, that Colorado had overreached by forbidding a licensed counselor from even talking with willing clients about unwanted same-sex attraction.
By lumping such counseling with real past abuses — like electric shock therapy, lobotomies, and fringe deliverance rituals — Colorado’s law likely violates the First Amendment. Speech, Justice Neil Gorsuch reasoned, does not forfeit constitutional protection simply because someone calls it therapy. The court did not bless coercion; it directed the lower courts to scrutinize whether Colorado’s ban could inhibit such speech. The point is that overgeneralization, while sometimes rhetorically powerful, ultimately crumbles when thoughtfully critiqued.
Past invasive and coercive practices, whether secular or religious in motivation, are wrong and harmful. Where Christians have traded the gospel of hope and wholeness for fear, shame, and control, they have inflicted real wounds that no theological cleverness can explain away. “Leviticus” camps there but never asks whether such practices are counterfeits of biblical ethics.
In a pivotal scene, the religiously zealous mother of one of the young men tells him, “We need fear. It’s how we survive.” True, fear is a God-given survival mechanism, but enthroning it is un-Christian because it reduces human beings to instinct-driven animals. The gospel message instead enthrones love. “Perfect love casts out fear,” the apostle John writes, “because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4:18). God’s love, displayed at the cross, where Jesus bears the punishment we deserve, removes fear and frees us to love God and pursue holiness out of gratitude. Chiarella thinks he has exposed Christianity’s bigotry. But he’s actually exposed a distorted view of both human nature and the biblical sexual ethic.
The horror in “Leviticus” works only if we grant that a person is defined simply by his desires, so that fencing off a desire erases the self. Straining to condemn homophobia in all its shades, the film flattens the very people it means to defend into one-dimensional beings. The biblical account moves the other way, insisting that human beings bear God’s image and that our longings, however powerful, never amount to the whole of who and what we are.
Scripture calls us to be sexually moral, indicting heterosexual excesses as seriously as any other. Writer Matt Moore understands this far better than Chiarella. He has spoken openly for years about his own same-sex attraction and about his stumbles along the way.
In younger years, Moore writes, he “wasn’t worried about being sexually moral.” He simply wanted to be “normal.” What he found was not an easy fix but something sturdier: honesty about his struggle, a forgiving community, and the same winding and uneven path of moral and spiritual formation every one of us is walking. None of that is cinematic, of course. It is slow and messy. It is the unglamorous work of a life being remade, which is the truest story the movies rarely tell.
Consider, too, the figure the film enlists to embody Christian belief: a shadowy “Deliverance Healer” muttering incantations over a crackpot rite. By calling the film “Leviticus,” Chiarella suggests that such a practice is biblical. Yet no church most Christians would recognize runs on shamans and spells. Chiarella’s straw man is actually a backhanded compliment. Genuine Christianity is too sturdy to attack head-on, so the film substitutes a flimsier version the audience can safely reject. What’s kept off screen is the true meaning behind what Leviticus and other parts of the Bible actually teach about sexuality. 
The Bible’s sexual ethic is not a set of dusty prohibitions from men who found homosexuality icky and then baptized their bigotry. It is not arbitrarily prohibitive; it is protective. Every human being is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and sex between a man and a woman is the natural means by which sacred human life is created. Because the product of sexuality is sacred, the process must be sacred too. Without boundaries, the process becomes common, even trivial. As pornography proliferates, humans become objects of gratification. Biblical boundaries, therefore, make sense not only naturally, but morally.
Biblical marriage between one man and one woman is a portrait of unity in diversity in that a man and a woman, unmistakably distinct, become one. The Hebrew carries the idea beautifully. A married man and woman “become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The word one is “echad,” which means “unified.” It’s the same word Israel is commanded to confess over God: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one (echad)” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
From a Christian perspective, the unity of diversity between husband and wife echoes the triune God’s unity of diversity. And that echo beckons us to a destination. The New Testament closes with a wedding in which God binds himself forever to a wayward humanity he has cleansed and made lovely, the pattern every human marriage quietly rehearses (Revelation 19). Same-sex sexuality loses that male-female echo by substituting the sacred diversity for uniformity. To protect us from that, the Bible shelters sex under holy wings. 
By the critics’ own accounts, “Leviticus” gives its characters no resolution; it ends in unbroken dread. Christianity proclaims the opposite: God’s gracious love protects human sacredness, removes the dread of condemnation, and calls us toward sexual wholeness. Like the inverse exorcism at its center, “Leviticus” gives us the photo negative of true Christianity. We’re better off with the authentic picture.
***
Abdu Murray is a speaker, author, and attorney who specializes in addressing issues where religious faith and emerging cultural trends intersect. Since founding <a href="https://embracethetruth.org/">Embrace the Truth</a> in 2004, he has spent decades analyzing how the major religious and non-religious thought traditions have attempted to address cultural issues.
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

Film Independent Presents “Leviticus”

The Horror Movie That Takes Aim At Christianity

Movies

Nearly half of Generation Z says one political factor is making them less likely to attend church, according to newly released survey data. 
The research found that 48% of Gen Z adults say Christian support for President Donald Trump makes them less likely to attend church. 
Political scientist and religion researcher Ryan Burge highlighted <a href="https://religionnews.com/2026/07/20/half-of-gen-z-says-trump-support-keeps-them-out-of-church/">newly released data</a> from the Billy Graham Center Research Institute examining barriers that keep young adults from embracing Christianity. The survey included 2,365 Gen Z adults ages 18 to 28 and was led by Rick Richardson of Wheaton College. 
Overall, nearly one in five respondents said they &#8220;strongly agreed&#8221; that Christians&#8217; support for the president discourages them from going to church services. 
“So, it’s fair to say young adults are pretty evenly divided on this idea,” Burge and Richardson wrote. “But these results are confounded by a few variables: Younger adults tend to be more left-leaning in their politics, and a significant share of Gen Z claims no religious affiliation, which means a lot of these respondents wouldn’t be going to church much anyway.”
Digging deeper, the survey found a sharp partisan divide. Among Gen Z Democrats, 67% said they &#8220;strongly,&#8221; &#8220;somewhat,&#8221; or &#8220;lightly&#8221; agreed that Christian support for Trump makes them less likely to attend church. Fewer than half of independents shared that view. Republicans, however, broke sharply in the opposite direction, with 74% saying they disagreed. 
About 72% of Gen Z atheists said Christians’ support of Trump has made them less likely to attend a church service. For agnostics, the figure fell slightly lower to 65%. Gen Z Protestants were least likely to feel that way, according to the report, which was highlighted by Religion News Service. 
“But even among Gen Z Christians, there’s a significant share who said Trump made it harder for them to attend at all: 44% of those who identified as a generic Christian, 42% of Catholics and 30% of Protestant young adults said they were turned off by the Christian-Trump alliance,” the report stated. 
White evangelicals have played a pivotal role in Trump&#8217;s electoral success, forming the backbone of the Republican coalition and backing him by overwhelming margins in all three of his presidential campaigns. In 2024, Trump captured 82% of the white evangelical vote, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0">according to exit polls</a>. Catholics also broke decisively in his favor, with nearly 60% backing Trump after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results">narrowly supporting Joe Biden</a> in 2020.
At the same time, other recent surveys suggest religion may be gaining traction among some segments of younger Americans. 
About 42% of men aged 18 to 29 now say religion is “very important” in their lives, up from 28% two years earlier, according to a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708410/young-men-religious-young-women.aspx">recent survey from Gallup</a>. The 14-point jump was the largest recorded among any demographic group in the poll’s recent history and returned young men to levels of religiosity not seen since the early 2000s.
Vice President JD Vance has <a href="https://x.com/VP/status/2056135528752234892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2056135528752234892%7Ctwgr%5Ec3aaf5b9e9b1bcf5d074b80023045f4e297c71f6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fthousands-of-christians-fill-national-mall-for-prayer-service-celebrating-americas-faith-heritage">hailed the numbers</a> as a rebuke to the expert class that has long predicted the demise of American Christianity. 
“Defying predictions, the experts said that religion and faith were dying. Today, a wave of young Americans is returning to the pews, and we know that they’re looking for meaning, for authority, for direction, and of course, for closeness with God,” Vance said. “That should give all of us hope for our future together.” 
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2026/05/14/how-americans-feel-about-religions-influence-in-government-and-public-life/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">A Pew Research poll</a> in May showed 37% of U.S. adults believe religion is gaining influence in America, the highest share since 2002.

Worshipper praying on a church

Half Of Gen Z Say A Political Factor Is Keeping Them Out Of Church

Faith

Gen Z

Religion

A Texas police department is in damage control after it threatened to censor the speech of Christian street evangelists during a pride festival, following a heated <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2074971464487284897?s=20">confrontation</a> that has drawn the attention of the federal government.
On June 27, Sarah Stogner, a longtime officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, went viral after threatening street preachers Richard Penkoski and David Grisham with disorderly conduct citations over their religious speech at Trinity Pride Fest, according to <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/tarrant-county/fort-worth-police-department-pride-fest-viral-video-david-grisham-officer-sarah-stogner-texas/287-c8928e80-44d7-4af0-ae77-0890cb28acf0">WFAA</a>.  
Leading up to the face-to-face clash, <a href="https://dallasexpress.com/tarrant/preachers-claim-police-warned-offensive-speech-about-transgender-women-could-lead-to-citation-at-pride-festival/">The Dallas Express</a> reported that the preachers were blocked from public streets and sidewalks surrounding the pride event.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Female Texas Cop THREATENS to ticket a retired officer and Christian street preacher for &#8220;offensive speech&#8221;
Cop: &#8220;If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem&#8230;&#8221;
Man: &#8220;You&#8217;re going to ticket us for &#8216;offensive&#8217; speech?&#8221;
Cop: &#8220;Yes, I am&#8221;
This cop is blatantly… <a href="https://t.co/qX0UjnRBSL">pic.twitter.com/qX0UjnRBSL</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2074971464487284897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“That ordinance means music, not talking. If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem,” Officer Stogner told the preachers.
One of the evangelists fired back: “That is a constitutional violation of our rights. I don’t care if they’re offended.” 
Stogner doubled down: “Okay, then I’ll write you the ticket, then we’ll go from there.” 
&#8220;You&#8217;re going to ticket us for &#8216;offensive&#8217; speech?&#8221; the other preacher, who was recording the exchange, said.
&#8220;Yes, I am,&#8221; Stogner replied. 
<a href="https://x.com/Carlos__Turcios/status/2071306445115588915?s=20">In a separate exchange</a>, another Fort Worth police officer warned the street preachers that they could face legal consequences if their Christian message offended others. The officers later issued the evangelists one citation of disorderly conduct related to loud noise from a bullhorn, according to <a href="https://dallasexpress.com/tarrant/preachers-claim-police-warned-offensive-speech-about-transgender-women-could-lead-to-citation-at-pride-festival/">The Dallas Express</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨FORT WORTH, TEXAS🚨Police told street preachers at the FW all-ages Pride event they could be cited if someone was offended by their speech. Asked if calling a transgender woman “sir” was citable, an officer replied, “It’s a gray area.”
Follow:<a href="https://x.com/Carlos__Turcios?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Carlos__Turcios</a><a href="https://x.com/DallasExpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DallasExpress</a> <a href="https://t.co/DSAtqZNmW1">pic.twitter.com/DSAtqZNmW1</a>
— Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) <a href="https://x.com/Carlos__Turcios/status/2071306445115588915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
The tense exchanges racked up tens of millions of views on X, fueling debate over free speech and religious liberty protections in one of the nation&#8217;s most conservative states.
“In Texas? Wow,” Elon Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2071608690612810014?s=20">wrote</a> on X. 
After the Department of Justice <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2075532674706321783?s=20">initiated a review of the incident</a>, the Fort Worth police chief acknowledged his officers had mishandled the incident.
&#8220;The biggest issue that I have is just the conversations and the way that we were describing what is lawful, what is not lawful,&#8221; Police Chief Eddie Garcia told <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/tarrant-county/fort-worth-police-department-pride-fest-viral-video-david-grisham-officer-sarah-stogner-texas/287-c8928e80-44d7-4af0-ae77-0890cb28acf0">WFAA</a> in an interview. &#8220;When we&#8217;re right, we&#8217;re right, and when we&#8217;re wrong, we&#8217;re wrong.&#8221; 
&#8220;There certainly was a better way to have that communication, and we were wrong in the manner in which we communicated that. Certainly, we&#8217;re going to take accountability for it,&#8221; he added. 
Garcia added that accountability will include renewed training on the First Amendment. 
&#8220;We just trained up our command staff again with refresher courses. We&#8217;re going to be training our sergeants. We&#8217;re going to be training our officers,&#8221; Garcia said.
The proposed measures didn’t cut it for the street preachers, who argued the damage is already done. 
&#8220;They have already violated their rights,&#8221; Attorney CJ Grisham, who represents David Grisham (no relation),  said, disputing the noise ordinance citation. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t meet the noise violation ordinance in any way whatsoever. So, just on its face, the charge is baseless,&#8221; he told WFAA.
Grisham alleged the viral exchange represents a troubling pattern with law enforcement, taking direct aim at Officer Stogner. 
&#8220;We have her on video doing this last year at the Pride festival. So, this is a pattern of abuse by Officer Stogner. But it&#8217;s not just her. Look at how many other officers were standing around,&#8221; Grisham said. 
It’s unclear whether Stogner or any of the officers involved will face any disciplinary action for the incident. 
On Tuesday, Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, demanded more information from the police department to determine whether “further formal action” was necessary. 
“Government actors cannot discriminate against viewpoints or restrict peaceful free speech just because it may be offensive to some,” Dhillon <a href="https://x.com/AAGDhillon/status/2077077136347636220?s=20">said</a>. “Under this administration, the Civil Rights Division will defend free speech, as protected by the Constitution.”

Sydney Makes History As 50,000 People March For Global Equality In Pride March

Texas Police Forced Walk Back Threats Against Christian Street Preachers At Pride Festival

The <a href="https://pcusa.org/news-storytelling/news/2026/6/3/ga227s-gender-and-sexuality-justice-committee-consider-wide-swath-proposals-many-related-healthcare">Presbyterian Church USA</a> (PCUSA) voted last week to support access to &#8220;all medically necessary, evidence-based gender-affirming healthcare&#8221; for all individuals, including minors.
Presented by the <a href="https://www.cherokeepresbytery.org/">Cherokee Presbytery</a> during the 227th General Assembly, the overture builds on the PCUSA’s existing non-discrimination policy regarding gender identity and sexual orientation by declaring support for access to “gender-affirming healthcare.” The organization views the <a href="https://www.kff.org/lgbtq/gender-affirming-care-policy-tracker/">27 states</a> banning or limiting youth’s access to life-altering gender procedures as banning “healthcare for minors.” 
The Cherokee Presbytery presented the overture: “Declare that the PCUSA supports all individuals, including minors, to have access to all medically necessary, evidence-based gender-affirming healthcare.”
<a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/pcusa-declares-support-for-trans-surgeries-for-kids.html">Rev. Olivia Lane</a>, moderator of the 227th General Assembly’s Gender and Sexuality Justice Committee, explained that the committee removed the phrase “including minors” from the final text due to concerns that it would be “weaponized to cause further harm to the very children it named.” 
Lane clarified that “all individuals means exactly that. All, without exception, without qualification, and without age limit.”
The “rationale” behind Cherokee Presbytery’s overture states that there are roughly 1.6 million transgender individuals aged 13 and older in the United States. 
“As of April 2024, 38%, or 113,900 trans youth aged 13-17 are living in the 24 states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care,” the <a href="https://myga.pc-biz.org/search/3001421">rationale said</a>. 
The rationale asserted that these statistics do not include the “thousands of pre-teen youths who could benefit from hormone blockers to prevent these individuals from going through the ‘wrong’ puberty” — a statement that contradicts <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019%3A3-5&amp;version=CSB">multiple </a><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20139%3A13&amp;version=CSBA">passages</a> in the Bible.
“Gender-affirming care is age-appropriate care that is medically necessary and evidence based for the well-being of many transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive people who experience symptoms of gender dysphoria or distress that result from having one’s gender identity not match their sex assigned at birth,” according to the rationale.
However, the argument that transgender surgeries are medically necessary or help patients has been <a href="https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/sex-reassignment-doesnt-work-here-the-evidence">proven false</a> for <a href="https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/02/60143/">some time</a>. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885">One study</a> found that “sex-reassigned persons,” in comparison to those maintaining their biological sex, had higher rates of suicide, higher suicide attempts, and increased need for psychiatric inpatient care.

2026 New York City Pride March

A Major Church’s Vote On Transgender Mutilation Of Kids Is Dividing Christians

Church

Transgender

transgender surgery

A Christian pastor imprisoned for months reunited with his family after the Chinese Communist Party released him following pressure from President Donald Trump. 
Pastor Mingri “Ezra” Jin, the leader of one of the largest underground church networks in China, landed in the United States on the Fourth of July and was greeted by his family. Trump pushed Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Jin during his trip to China in May. 
&#8220;We truly witnessed a miracle and we are feeling so overwhelmed with joy. We thank God for this tremendous miracle,” Jin’s family said in a statement. “We also thank President Trump and his administration for their tremendous leadership.”
Jin and a number of other church leaders connected to Zion Church, an independent Protestant church, were rounded up and thrown into a detention center in southern China in October 2025. In January 2026, more Christians associated with Early Rain Covenant Church, an evangelical Presbyterian church, were targeted by the CCP. 
Jin was accused of disseminating illegal information online. 
Grace Jin Drexel, who has fought for months to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daughter-of-imprisoned-chinese-pastor-releases-tearful-christmas-message-to-father?utm_source=chatgpt.com">raise awareness</a> about her father’s case, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daughter-of-detained-pastor-warns-of-a-coming-wave-of-christian-persecution-in-communist-china">previously told</a> The Daily Wire her father became a Christian after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
“When the country betrayed them in such a brutal way, it really was shocking, and they lost a sense of direction for my dad,” Grace said. “He then found the sense of purpose and direction in Christianity, and he turned to Christ, and he realized that was the firm foundation that he needed in order to build his life upon.”
In 2007, Jin started Zion after years of theological training in the United States. By 2018, the government had cracked down on Zion by closing its physical location and freezing the church’s assets. 
During his trip to China, Trump pressed Xi on the imprisonment of Jin and Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai. 
“I think he’s giving very serious consideration to the pastor,” Trump said after the trip. “He said he’s giving very serious consideration to that.” 
Lawmakers praised Trump for advocating for Jin’s release. 
“I am profoundly grateful that Pastor Ezra Jin has been released and reunited with his family. I especially thank President Trump for personally raising Pastor Jin’s case with CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping and for ensuring that U.S. diplomats remained committed in pressing for his freedom,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the co-chair of Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

CHINA-RELIGION-RIGHTS

China Releases Influential Christian Prisoner In ‘Miracle’ Move After Trump Pressured Xi

China

Christian Persecution

Donald Trump

Mel Gibson’s massive hit “The Passion of the Christ” will return to theaters this September ahead of the release of “The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One,” which debuts in 2027.
The 2004 biblical drama has been remastered in 4K with Dolby Atmos sound, Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/mel-gibson-passion-of-the-christ-theaterical-release-resurrection-of-the-christ-sneak-peek-1236800050/">reported</a>. Theatergoers will also get a sneak peek of the sequel during their screening. 
“&#8217;The Passion of the Christ&#8217; remains one of the most extraordinary theatrical experiences ever created. For millions of people, it was far more than a film — it became a powerful shared cultural and faith experience,” Kevin Grayson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president of worldwide distribution, <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/news/mel-gibson-passion-of-the-christ-theaterical-release-resurrection-of-the-christ-sneak-peek-1236800050/">told</a> the outlet in a statement. “Bringing it back to theaters in a stunning new restoration allows longtime audiences to experience it in an entirely new way while inviting a new generation to discover it in theaters for the very first time.”
“Few modern-day films have made as much of an impact on the cultural landscape as ‘The Passion of the Christ,&#8217;” said Ray Nutt, Fathom Entertainment’s chief executive officer. “Twenty years ago, faith-based and more secular-leaning audiences alike embraced Mel Gibson’s film cinematic masterpiece and made it a true success, ushering in an era of opportunity for future religious-themed projects.”
The sequel will be released on Ascension Day during two consecutive years, with “Part One” coming out on May 6, 2027 and “Part Two” following on May 25, 2028. 
Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen will be stepping into the role of Jesus, replacing original “Passion” star Jim Caviezel. Actress Mariela Garriga will portray Mary Magdalene, taking over the role previously played by Monica Bellucci.
Gibson described the film as something far bigger than a normal Hollywood production in an official statement earlier this year. 
“This film represents a major part of my life’s work,” Gibson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/first-look-at-mel-gibsons-long-awaited-biblical-jesus-sequel-revealed">said</a>. “It’s far more than a film to me.”
Back in 2004, much of Hollywood and the Left openly sneered at “The Passion of the Christ” before its release. But Gibson proved them all wrong when the film earned more than $600 million globally and became one of the most successful independent films ever made.

Passion of the Christ

‘The Passion Of The Christ’ Is Coming Back To The Big Screen

Entertainment

Hollywood

Mel Gibson

A popular online tarot card reader with nearly one million followers on TikTok has turned to God, leaving behind her top spot in the so-called WitchTok space, deleting all of her past videos and posts, and closing her lucrative Etsy shop.
<div class="css-hq86b9-7937d88b--DivUserTextWrapper ewydtb10">
Alexandra Ashcroft, who was known online as &#8220;Alex Reads Tarot,&#8221; posted a video last week informing her followers that she is now a Christian. In the video, which has already accumulated millions of views, Ashcroft proclaimed that Jesus has saved her life, and she can no longer read tarot cards or host similar content.
“Over the past nearly a year, my faith has become the most important thing in my life,” Ashcroft said in the video. “Through that journey, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting, questioning, praying, and trying to understand my faith more and where God was starting to lead me. Truthfully, if you’d have told me a couple of years ago that I’d be sitting here making this video, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.&#8221;
“I don’t know exactly what comes next for me, but what I do know is that Jesus Christ has saved my life, and I can no longer ignore that reality,&#8221; she added.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
This is a phenomenal testimony and worth the 10 minutes.
&#8216;Alex Reads Tarot&#8217; was a popular and prominent social media creator in the &#8216;WitchTok space, where she gained a large following by posting daily tarot readings, zodiac updates, and paid spiritual readings.
Then, without… <a href="https://t.co/3iuHzjpOIQ">pic.twitter.com/3iuHzjpOIQ</a>
— Protestia (@Protestia) <a href="https://x.com/Protestia/status/2070680924199489701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Ashcroft&#8217;s tarot card TikTok account, which had more than 933,000 followers, has been totally scrubbed of past content. The only two posts currently hosted on the account are a video of Ashcroft explaining why she left the lifestyle and another video directing anyone who wants to follow her to her new account. Ashcroft, notably, is starting over with followers on her new account, where her handle is &#8220;@AlexCourageInChrist.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1125571" style="width: 773px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1125571" class="wp-image-1125571 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-10.03.06-AM-763x576.png" alt="" width="763" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-10.03.06-AM-763x576.png 763w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-10.03.06-AM-300x227.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-10.03.06-AM-768x580.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-10.03.06-AM.png 1454w" sizes=" (max-width: 763px) 100vw, 763px" />TikTok</div>
Ashcroft said her new account will likely discuss scripture or other Christian themes, but stressed that she is not yet sure where the Lord is leading her.
She also quietly closed her Etsy shop, where she had more than 27,000 sales.
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<div id="attachment_1125487" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1125487" class="wp-image-1125487 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM-1024x410.png" alt="" width="1024" height="410" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM-1024x410.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM-300x120.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM-768x308.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM-1536x616.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-30-at-9.06.58-AM.png 1552w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: Etsy</div>
Online users have expressed how moved they were by Ashcroft&#8217;s conversion, and fellow Christians have offered many prayers and words of support. However, the young woman has also reportedly lost tens of thousands of followers and received backlash for leaving the space. In a more recent video, Ashcroft said that she does not feel any need to &#8220;convince&#8221; anyone of anything, and that she knows the truth and so does God, and that&#8217;s all that matters.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-major-move-putting-god-back-in-americas-classrooms">The Major Move Putting God Back In America’s Classrooms</a>

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The Texas State Board of Education voted on new curriculum that requires public schools to teach the historical context of the Bible, impacting more than 5 million public school students. 
Building on America&#8217;s foundation in Judeo-Christian values, Texas wants to include Bible passages along with other classic literature in the K-12 education curriculum. This comes just after Texas won the fight to mandate posting the Ten Commandments in every classroom.
Multiple titles will be mandated at each grade level, including a “picture-book adaptation of the David and Goliath story for elementary students,” and the story of Adam and Eve for older students. Other biblical stories include the Book of Jonah, the Book of Psalms, and excerpts from the Book of Genesis and Lamentations, according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-school">Guardian</a>. There will also be an increased emphasis on classic literature and culturally significant readings such as Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”
The board of education gave its final <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-school">approval</a> to the curriculum during Friday’s vote. 
This new curriculum is based on “a 2023 Texas law requiring state education officials to designate at least one literary work for every grade level, with the state board expanding on that mandate by recommending multiple texts for each grade,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-bible-required-reading-public-school">The Guardian</a> reported.
The decision has led to both praise and criticism.
Parents in favor of the new curriculum believe that it will help students better understand the Judeo-Christian values that founded the nation and Western history. 
Those opposed claim it will be a violation of the separation of church and state. Saying the curriculum lacks diversity and favors Christianity over other faiths, they complain it will “infringe on parents’ ability to lead their children’s religious education &#8230; particularly in non-Christian households.”
However, many public schools already teach stories tied to the Hindu and Islamic faiths despite the fact that there is a “church and state separation.” 
Policymakers have assured parents that the curriculum is not teaching a religion, but providing historical context within the state education code already requiring K-12 to teach “religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on history and literature.” 
Susan Perez, founder of a Christian parent advocacy group, Citizens for Education Reform, argued in Monday’s school board meeting that not every religious belief needs to be incorporated into public school education because “our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian values.”

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