A self-described atheist confronted Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio during a campaign event in Iowa and asked the Florida senator whether he’s running to be “pastor-in-chief.”
Justin Scott, according to American Atheists Facebook page, has been going to campaign stops all across Iowa asking politicians about the role of religion in their politics.
Scott visited Rubio’s event on Monday night and asked how he planned on representing the rights of atheists once in office, “because there’s talk in our community of you running as pastor-in-chief and not commander-in-chief.”
“You have a right to believe whatever you want,” Rubio replied. “No one is going to force you to believe in God, but no one is going to force me to stop talking about God.”
Rubio, who is a Roman Catholic, has ramped up religious-based outreach to social conservatives in television ads and speeches in hopes of luring evangelical voters away from GOP front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
“I’m not going to force you to pray, I’m not going to force you to go to church. I’m not going to force you to espouse beliefs that you don’t have,” Rubio said in Waverly, Iowa. “But, no one is going to take away my right and your right to live out the teachings of your faith. No one.”
Marco Rubio: Pastor in Chief?Justin Scott has been going to campaign stops all across Iowa asking politicians about the role of religion in their politics. This weekend, he asked Sen. Marco Rubio. Some quotes from Sen. Rubio: “This nation was founded on the principle that our rights come from our Creator. If there’s no Creator, then where did your rights come from?” and “I’m more interested in eternity, and the ability to live forever with my Creator… That’s what I aspire to more than anything else.”Rubio also made it clear that he would allow government employees and private business to discriminate in the name of “religious freedom.”#AtheistVoter
Posted by American Atheists on Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Leave a Reply