AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott often showcases Bible passages and prayerful remarks on social media, but a Facebook post about a holy day in his Catholic faith drew vitriolic comments suggesting he worships idols.

Abbott posted a commemoration of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, marking Catholic belief that Mary was brought into heaven body and soul.

“The Virgin Mary is exalted above the choirs of angels. Blessed is the Lord who has raised her up,” Abbott wrote to accompany a sketch of Mary above the clouds. The sketch included a notation that it was a political ad by Texans for Greg Abbott.

The Facebook post drew more than 900 comments, with some praising Abbott for his reverence and talking about their own devotion to Mary. Others, however, harshly took him to task.

“So you’re Catholic Mr. Abbott? So what? You worship idols; not something I’d be telling everyone,” said one. Agreed another, “This is nothing more than idol worship.”

Another said, with generous punctuation, “Jesus is The Blessed and Holy One!!! Were you hacked??????”

One said that those who pray to Mary are “doomed.” Another, who said he voted for Abbott, expressed disappointment and said, “Another reason Catholics are Catholics and not Christians.”

Democratic consultant Colin Strother couldn’t resist a shot at Abbott over the heated comments.

“This is what you get for catering to religious nuts. Enjoy!” Strother wrote on Abbott’s Facebook page.

The governor’s office had no comment on any of the responses to his post.

David Crockett, chairman of the political science department at Trinity University in San Antonio, attributed the comments slamming Abbott’s religion to the propensity for social media to reveal “the seamier underbelly of things.”

Abbott highlighted his Catholic faith during last year’s race for governor, although his religious affiliation seemed to be news to some who commented on Facebook.

Crockett said the faith factor would be unlikely to make a difference politically for Abbott, who handily secured the governor’s office.

“The idea that you could find a Southern Baptist Republican who would look at this and say, ‘I should challenge Abbott for the nomination’ — I just can’t imagine that,” Crockett said. “When you move away from politics and look at theology, there are certainly a not insignificant number of evangelical Protestants who look upon Catholicism with a little bit of suspicion.”

John F. Kennedy notably successfully addressed the issue of his Catholic faith when he ran for president in 1960, while Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith was no barrier to him securing the GOP nod in the last presidential election.

One Facebook commenter unfavorably compared Abbott to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the GOP presidential hopeful who has quipped that he is “Cuban, Irish and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist.”

“Disappointing to know that you hold bad theology when I really like your politics Greg Abbott. Please start learning from Ted Cruz, his theology is accurate,” the commenter wrote.

Those visiting the Facebook page at times turned on each other, with one writing to another that Mary was conceived “without sin you idiot” so that “she could be the mother of God” and opining that “you need some catholic slapped into you.”

Some were lower-key as they sought to explain their faith, saying Catholics don’t worship Mary as they do God but honor her and accord her a special place in the church.

One begged for a cease-fire, saying, “Gov. Abbott is a Christian who just happens to be Catholic and does not need you to chastise him for praying to the Virgin Mary!! I pray to God the Father and Jesus Christ and I am a Christian that just happens to be Baptist! !!! Really … give it a rest!!!!!!”

There also was some broader criticism of Abbott’s religious message, with one commenter saying if Abbott were a Christian, “he would take care of the poor and homeless.”

By late afternoon Monday, the Assumption post on Abbott’s Facebook page had been liked 6,272 times and shared 1,025 times.

Such traffic isn’t unusual for Abbott, who got more attention with a post saying, “I survived the Blue Bell ice cream famine of 2015!” That post had been shared 67,516 times and liked 87,663 times by late Monday afternoon.

pfikac@express-news.net

Twitter: @pfikac