Rubio: 'Next Step' Will Be to Label Mainstream Christian Teachings Hate Speech

"...we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater."

5.27.2015

In a recent interview with CBN News, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) said the teachings of mainstream Christianity are "on the water's edge" of being labeled "hate speech."

In a wide-ranging discussion with CBN News, Rubio addressed the importance of faith and family, touching on his own journey of faith and his family's return to the Catholic Church. But Rubio warned that freedom of religion, particularly for mainstream Christians, faced a "real and present danger" in America:

RUBIO: If you think about it, we are at the water's edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech. Because today we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater. So what's the next step after that? After they are done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity, the catechism of the Catholic Church is hate speech and there's a real and present danger.

Rubio also addressed the importance of the family unit in society. Calling family "the original cell of society," the Senator argued for the essential rights of families above government authority:

RUBIO: It is the first and most important government. It is the first church. The family is the singular most important institution in society. It existed before government. It existed before laws.

One of the most important elements of his own family, he explained, was their Catholic faith, which they returned to after brief periods engaging with Protestantism and Mormonism.

RUBIO: As I got more theologically aware and more engaged and learning about Catholicism, I wanted to go back and so we did. I did first communion on Christmas Day in 1984. That was probably in 7th or 8th grade. ... In an ironic way, the more I learned about the written Word, the more I fell in love with the Roman Catholic teachings and we ended up going back to that church.

Rubio emphasized that his family was now "fully aligned" with the teachings of the Catholic Church and that his faith drives many of his positions on marriage and other social issues:

RUBIO: And so today we're in a place where we are Roman Catholics, fully aligned with the theology and the Magisterium, the teaching authority of the Church – but also with a tremendous appreciate for, and often interaction with our brothers and sisters in Christ who attend other denominations.

Partial transcript, video via CBN News.