“A deal with the devil”: Religion motivates data center opponents in Texas

Some see the AI facilities as a sign of the apocalypse Published August 3, 2026 6:00AM (EDT) Clayton Tucker, Democratic candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, speaks at the Capitol to protest data center expansion. (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images) This article originally appeared on The Texas Tribune. Matt Long stood before the Granbury City Council at an April zoning meeting to oppose the influx of proposed data centers in Hood County, likening them to a spiritual abomination. “I’d consider us a Christian city inside a Christian county,” said Long, a member of the county’s development commission who lives near Granbury. “As Christians, do we think that trading 2,100 acres of natural beauty for godless technological complexes is moving us closer to the cre