Posted on 04/20/2015 9:04:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Florida senator’s dabbling in multiple denominations shows a country more and more inclined toward a consumerist approach toward religion.
American presidential candidates are often a good lens for looking at the state of American religion. For instance, the fact that 2012 was the first election in American history where no candidate was a mainline Protestant, after that branch’s virtual monopoly on the White House, reflected the mainline’s precipitous decline in numbers and influence over the 20th century.
While the two vice-presidential candidates were boringly Catholic, Barack Obama ran as a nondenominational, basically unchurched Christian, and Mitt Romney as a Mormon, reflecting the surge of these two very different styles of Christianity in America.
The sociologist Peter Berger once quipped that if Swedes are the world’s least religious people, and Indians the world’s most religious people, then America is a nation of Indians governed by Swedes. But the top Swedes, of either party, have to at least pretend to be Indians, and to be Indians in the style of the Indians. So presidential candidates provide an ideal funhouse mirror image of the state of American religion as it is actually lived.
This cycle, the recently-announced candidate Marco Rubio also provides an interesting lens through which to look at how Christianity is changing in America. Rubio is a Catholic. But Rubio is also a Catholic who dabbled in Mormonism. And Rubio is a Catholic who dabbled in Mormonism who attends Southern Baptist services with his wife.
This reflects the increasingly consumerist, do-it-yourself aspect of American religion. Contrary to the hopes or fears (depending on where you stand) that greeted the New Atheism publishing phenomenon, Americans are as religious as ever—more Americans than in the 1950s, for example, report having had an experience of the divine, or believing in an afterlife.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
PFL
Rubio is what we would call a Cafeteria Christian.
He will go to whatever denomination he finds appealing.
But then, he’s very much like a large number of Americans. Not sure if this will hurt or help him politically...
Rubio also had no problem when asked if he would attend a same-sex “wedding.”
Neither does Ohio Governor John Kasich. See here:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3281142/posts
I also just found another thread where he states that he believes people are born gay.
Catholic, he is not.
Rubio is a Roman Catholic.
RE: Catholic, he is not.
Pope Francis himself is not very clear about this.
Here’s a quote from him:
http://www.davidlgray.info/blog/2013/07/francis-people-born-gay/
“There is so much being written about the gay lobby. I haven’t met anyone in the Vatican yet who has “gay” written on their identity cards. There is a distinction between being gay, being this way inclined and lobbying. Lobbies are not good. If a gay person is in eager search of God, who am I to judge them? The Catholic Church teaches that gay people should not be discriminated against; they should be made to feel welcome. Being [oriented – WSJ] gay is not the problem, lobbying is the problem and this goes for any type of lobby, business lobbies, political lobbies and Masonic lobbies.”
RE: Rubio is a Roman Catholic
Yes, it says so in the article.
And he also attends a Southern Baptist service.
Christless Christianity + Morality-free Culture + Constitutionless Governance + Fact-free Education = America 2015
He attends Southern Baptist services because it is the largest denomination in the south.
If he lived in Utah, no doubt he would attend Mormon services for the same reason. It ain't rocket science.
Regardless of what Francis says/believes, Catholic teaching has never taught that homosexuals are born that way.
RE: Regardless of what Francis says/believes,
Then we can’t call Rubio NOT Catholic for a mistaken belief about homosexuals. What if Francis himself held this mistaken belief?
The supposed leader of the Catholic Church doesn’t know what the Church teaches?
I have a bridge to sell you.
RE: The supposed leader of the Catholic Church doesn’t know what the Church teaches?
Then why does he not CLEARLY teach it?
Why the very vague statement on this issue?
And he’s not Catholic for other reasons as well...one of which is participating in non-Catholic worship services.
Oh wait I forgot, the post Vatican II popes threw that teaching out the window too.
So, which one is right? Vatican I or Vatican II?
Because Modernists do not speak clearly; neither are they Catholic.
So, is Pope Francis is modernist?
Your question is a valid one and it involves a lot. There is no way to respond to that here. And I probably wouldn’t do a good job of doing so anyway. I would suggest reading up on some traditional Catholic forums to responses to the latest Crisis in the Catholic Church.
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