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Tucker Carlson says Episcopal Church is 'not Christian at all' after Mariann Budde sermon: 'Pagan'

Tucker Carlson, founder of Tucker Carlson Network, speaks on stage on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18.
Tucker Carlson, founder of Tucker Carlson Network, speaks on stage on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18. | Leon Neal/Getty Images

Former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson called the Episcopal Church an "angry, hateful organization" that is "non-Christian" in an interview last week responding to a female bishop who rebuked President Donald Trump during an inauguration service. 

During an interview with British journalist and TV host Piers Morgan shared on Wednesday, Carlson, a 55-year-old longtime Episcopalian, lambasted Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde and the Episcopal Church as an organization.

Budde delivered a controversial inauguration service sermon with President Donald Trump in attendance on Jan. 21.

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"This is not a Christian organization at all," Carlson said. "This is a very angry, hateful organization run by dreadfully unhappy middle-aged lesbians, which is exactly what it is. So only by showing that in public can it ever be forced to reform."

Budde, who is married to her husband Paul and has two kids, garnered national headlines for her sermon at Washington National Cathedral. She directly addressed Trump, who was seated in the front row alongside his wife, first lady Melania Trump.

"In the Name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now," Budde said to the commander-in-chief. "There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. Some who fear for their lives."

Carlson, who hasn't shied away from criticizing his denomination in the past, said Budde's comments to the president may be a "hopeful thing" that could lead to changes in the denomination.

"I actually thought it was a hopeful thing that the rest of America, not just we Episcopalians, could see what it's actually like, which is repulsive and totally non-Christian," he said. "It's pagan."

In her sermon, Budde asked Trump "to have mercy" on those "in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those who are fleeing warzones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here."

"They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals," she continued. 

Carlson attributed Budde's comments to "woke-ism" and said it's merely the latest "manifestation of something that has been at work in this world since Eden."

"It's purely destructive," Carlson added. "It exists under the very dishonest guise which is, like, to help and enrich and uplift people. It does none of that. It's a purely destructive force designed to wreck institutions that were actually humane and divide people from each other along the lines of race and sex, and it's just evil, and we should say that."

Carlson has been critical of fellow Episcopalians in the past. In a 2013 interview, he claimed the Episcopal Church "sanction[s] abortions."

"We still go to the Episcopal Church for all kinds of complicated reasons, but I truly despise the Episcopal Church in a lot of ways," he told World Magainze. "They're for gay marriage because it's trendy. It's another way to express how hip they are. They don't care at all what God thinks of it because they actually don't believe in God. And then the fact that they sanction abortion. Are you joking? A church is for abortion? What?"

Following the backlash to Budde's sermon, rumors swirled on social media that Budde had been removed from her position, but those rumors were quashed Thursday by Washington National Cathedral. 

"I can confirm without hesitation that Bishop Budde very much remains the Episcopal Bishop of Washington," Kevin Eckstrom, chief public affairs officer of the Washington National Cathedral, told Reuters.

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