A Texas pastor who believes Mitt Romney’s religion of Mormonism is a cult says that re-electing President Barack Obama is like allowing Adolf Hitler to come to power in the 1930s.

First Baptist Church of Dallas Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress told religious leaders at WTBN Ninth Annual Pastors Appreciation Lunch on Tuesday that they needed to make politics a part of their sermons, according to The Tampa Tribune.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I believe the preservation of America depends on pastors,” Jeffress said. “This is no time for God’s men to be passive. It’s time to stand up and push back against all the evil in our country… Tell your people that they have a choice: to cast a vote for righteousness or vote for unrighteousness.”

Jeffress said that pastors should urge church members to vote for candidates who support “biblical values” like opposition to abortion and marriage equality.

“Stay silent, he warned them, and you’re no different than German Lutheran pastors who didn’t speak out against Hitler’s growing influence in the late 1930s. That lack of action led to the Holocaust, he said,” the Tribune‘s Michelle Bearden reported.

In an interview after the event, Jeffress said that he had not explicitly endorsed Romney, but “people can connect the dots. It’s clear which candidate shares our views.”

During the Republican presidential primary, the Texas pastor made news when he told the Values Voter Summit that Gov. Rick Perry was a “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” and Romney was “not a Christian” because he belong to a cult.

ADVERTISEMENT

And Jeffress has not changed his mind, but clearly believes that Romney is the lesser of two evils.

“It’s absolutely a cult,” he explained on Tuesday. “Mormonism is not part of Christianity. We clearly differ on theology, but we embrace the same values.”

Watch this video, uploaded Oct. 31, 2012.