Marco Rubio on separation of church and state: God "doesn't need our permission to be anywhere"

"God is everywhere," the Florida senator told the audience

Published November 18, 2013 5:31PM (EST)

Marco Rubio                    (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Marco Rubio (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Marco Rubio over the weekend delivered the keynote address at a fundraising event for the Florida Family Policy Council, a conservative organization that promotes so-called ex-gay conversion therapy and believes that gay parents are a "threat" to their children, among other odious views.

But the organization isn't exclusively focused on stripping LGBT people of their basic rights (though they are still very focused on doing those things), it also has a broader political agenda that includes abolishing reproductive rights and teaching creationist pseudo-science in public schools.

Rubio, who must have felt plenty at ease among his ideological cohorts, used his address to explain why the separation of church and state is not even worth debating because "God is everywhere" and "doesn't need our permission to be anywhere."

You can watch his remarks here:


By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.

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Christianity Creationism Marco Rubio Religion Separation Of Church And State Video