Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio told an atheist he would not hide from his religious beliefs or stop talking about God as he campaigned in Iowa Monday.
“No one’s going to force you to believe in God,” he told the atheist, Justin Scott, at a townhall meeting in Waverly. “But no one’s going to force me to stop talking about God.”
“Not only am I a Christian, not only am I influenced by my faith, but it is the single greatest influence in my life,” he added, according to the Associated Press. “And from that I’ll never hide.”
Scott, wearing a red “atheist voter” shirt, had confronted Rubio in the townhall style meeting about the influence faith would have on his potential presidency. He told Rubio he’s worried religious liberty laws might lead to discrimination, and expressed concern he’s running as “pastor-in-chief,” according to tweets from reporters at the event.
Rubio told Scott he shouldn’t worry about his faith causing him to discriminate, but pushed back against the idea that religious liberty laws lead to discrimination. Pastors, bakers and florists shouldn’t be penalized for refusing to participate in same sex marriage ceremonies.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.