Junior U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has just thrown his hat into the ring and announced his bid for the presidency. Since Rubio made a point of discussing, at length, his religious beliefs in his 2012 memoir An American Son: A Memoir, it seems fair to have a look. Following his announcement, LGBT rights media have showcased Rubio's lengthy record of anti-gay statements and rhetoric (see 1, 2) but there's a broader pattern.
Among Rubio's two main religious influences, Catholic Church doctrine is a matter of public record. But an investigation of Rubio's Miami Baptist megachurch reveals, notably, an anti-homosexual hiring policy, the promotion of demonology and exorcism, Young Earth creationism, and denial of evolution.
Marco Rubio's walk with God has been meandering and, some might say, fickle. As a child Rubio, who was baptized Catholic, made a brief but fervent conversion to Mormonism. His switch to the Church of the Latter Day Saints lasted three years.
As an adult, from 2000 to 2004 Rubio took a detour from his Catholic roots to exclusively attend Miami's Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist megachurch to which Rubio has given at least $50,000.
Now straddling both Christ Fellowship and the Catholic Church, Marco Rubio seems positioned to appeal both to conservative Catholics but also the anti-LGBT, demon-casting, creationist segment of the Protestant evangelical right.
Though he's now primarily and "firmly" Catholic, Rubio has recently told Religion News Service reporter Sarah Pulliam-Bailey that he has "maintained the relationship with Christ Fellowship" and often attends services at the church.
During his Protestant years, Rubio revealed in his 2012 memoir, he nonetheless "craved, literally, the Most Blessed Sacrament, Holy Communion" (of the Catholic Church.) So, the rising GOP star found a practical, buffet-style solution. Rubio divulged that on Saturday nights he brings his family to worship at Christ Fellowship, and on Sunday the Rubio family attends St. Louis Catholic Church.
Christ Fellowship requires prospective employees to sign the following sexual purity oath:
Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version) reads, "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 20:13 (NIV) is harsher: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Much More: Marco Rubio's Miami Church: Exorcisms, Creationism, Anti-Gay Policies - Bruce Wilson
Holy shit, you really must read the entire article. Rubio is a very confused little puppy.
Among Rubio's two main religious influences, Catholic Church doctrine is a matter of public record. But an investigation of Rubio's Miami Baptist megachurch reveals, notably, an anti-homosexual hiring policy, the promotion of demonology and exorcism, Young Earth creationism, and denial of evolution.
Marco Rubio's walk with God has been meandering and, some might say, fickle. As a child Rubio, who was baptized Catholic, made a brief but fervent conversion to Mormonism. His switch to the Church of the Latter Day Saints lasted three years.
As an adult, from 2000 to 2004 Rubio took a detour from his Catholic roots to exclusively attend Miami's Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist megachurch to which Rubio has given at least $50,000.
Now straddling both Christ Fellowship and the Catholic Church, Marco Rubio seems positioned to appeal both to conservative Catholics but also the anti-LGBT, demon-casting, creationist segment of the Protestant evangelical right.
Though he's now primarily and "firmly" Catholic, Rubio has recently told Religion News Service reporter Sarah Pulliam-Bailey that he has "maintained the relationship with Christ Fellowship" and often attends services at the church.
During his Protestant years, Rubio revealed in his 2012 memoir, he nonetheless "craved, literally, the Most Blessed Sacrament, Holy Communion" (of the Catholic Church.) So, the rising GOP star found a practical, buffet-style solution. Rubio divulged that on Saturday nights he brings his family to worship at Christ Fellowship, and on Sunday the Rubio family attends St. Louis Catholic Church.
Christ Fellowship requires prospective employees to sign the following sexual purity oath:
"I hereby certify that I am a Christian, not a practicing homosexual in accordance with scriptures (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-10, I Timothy 1:10)"
Leviticus 18:22 (New International Version) reads, "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 20:13 (NIV) is harsher: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Much More: Marco Rubio's Miami Church: Exorcisms, Creationism, Anti-Gay Policies - Bruce Wilson
Holy shit, you really must read the entire article. Rubio is a very confused little puppy.
