(CNN) — At Sunday morning church services around the country, conservative religious leaders found the same word to describe Charlie Kirk , the podcaster and political activist killed on Wednesday: martyr.

“Today, we celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old God-fearing Christian man, a husband, father of two, a patriot, a civil rights activist, and now a Christian martyr,” said Rob McCoy, the pastor emeritus of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in California.

Kirk, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump who attracted an ardent conservative following and criticism for his anti-feminist, anti-immigration views, was fatally shot Wednesday at Utah Valley University. He was speaking to a crowd of thousands as part of “The American Comeback Tour,” which featured Kirk’s signature even

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