Rick Santorum Vows to Fight Until His 'Dying Day' for Religious Expression in Public Square
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — After a 15-minute speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, potential 2016 presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum defended his freedom to act on his religious beliefs in the public square and asserted that a society that conforms to one set of secular ideas is a "dangerous thing."
After Santorum provided the audience with a heartfelt speech reasserting his desire to stabilize the economy, help the "little guy" and bomb ISIS back to the "seventh century," the 56-year-old was asked during a question-and-answer session how he would answer moderate Republicans who did not like the fact that he was a devout Roman Catholic.
Santorum, who ran in the Republican presidential primary in 2012, asserted that the Constitution protects his rights to act according to his faith in the public forum.
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"One of the great things about this country is that it is a country that is passionate about freedom, passionate about being able to live their lives. I find it somewhat disturbing that sometimes that its OK, unless you are someone that happens to be religious in the world today," Santorum responded. "Somehow you are not allowed to be Catholic, you are not allowed to stand up [for your rights]."
Although the freedom of religion is protected by the First Amendment, a secularist movement in society has made it so some public officials are being criticized and punished for speaking according to their beliefs.
In December, a military chaplain was scolded for talking about his religious faith in a suicide prevention class. In January, Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired after he released a book designed for his prayer group where he briefly discussed how homosexuality is wrong according to his Christian beliefs.
"I will fight and I have fought for everybody to be able to commit to the public square and make their case," Santorum said. "Whether I agree with it or not, I will fight to my dying day to make sure you have the right to do that. Increasingly, we are finding that unless you have a particular point of view, you are not welcome anymore. That is a dangerous thing for America."
He added that "freedom of religion" should always trump "separation of church and state."
"Separation of church and state is not in the Constitution but freedom of religion is and that is what I will stand for," Santorum said.
As he embarks toward another potential presidential campaign, Santorum reminded the crowd why he gained over four million votes in the 2012 primary election and won 11 primaries including the Iowa Caucus. He said it was because he promised to take a stand for economic principles that focus on helping the "working men and women struggling today," or as he also calls them, "the little guy."
"With all the workers in America, only 10 percent own their own business, 90 percent are little guys," Santorum explained. "Pundits have often wondered how I was able to win in 11 states when I was outspent four or five to one. They simply opined that I was simply the last man standing. They were wrong. I won because I stood for someone: the little guy, the American worker. In 2016, we need to stand for the little guy too."
