Marco Rubio Was Once a Mormon

The GOP base - or at least the extremist evangelical Christian portion of it - has demonstrated a continuing fear of Mitt Romney's Mormon faith. Among the far right there seems to be a false belief that religious belief is some type immutable characteristic as opposed something that can be changed, rejected entirely, or discarded like a change of clothes. Thus, it is only too hysterical to learn that Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio - a top darling of the GOP base - was once a Mormon. I imagine some conservative heads will explode on this news. BuzzFeed has details. Here are some highlights:

In the compelling personal narrative that has helped propel Florida Senator Marco Rubio to national political stardom, one chapter has gone completely untold: Rubio spent his childhood as a faithful Mormon.

Rubio was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with his family at around the age of eight, and remained active in the faith for a number of years during his early youth, family members told BuzzFeed.

The revelation adds a new dimension to Rubio's already-nuanced religious history—and could complicate his political future at a time when many Republicans see him as the odds-on favorite for the 2012 vice presidential nod.

Rubio spokesman Alex Conant confirmed the story to BuzzFeed, and said Rubio returned to the Catholic church a few years later with his family, receiving his first communion on Christmas day in 1984 at the age of 13.

A sign that Rubio's aides see the story as potentially damaging: BuzzFeed's inquiries appear to have sent them into frantic damage-control mode, and after email inquiries from BuzzFeed — but minutes before Conant responded with a phone call this morning — a brief item appeared on the blog of the Miami Herald mentioning the Senator's religous past. Conant said Rubio planned to discuss his time as a Mormon in his forthcoming book.

The story of Rubio's conversion to Mormonism, his enthusiastic immersion in LDS adolescent life, and his eventual departure from the church was recently related to BuzzFeed by two of the Senator's first cousins, Mo Denis, a Democratic State Senator in Nevada, and his sister Michelle — both of whom were close to his family at the time.

"He was totally into it," Michelle recalled. "He's always been into religion. Football and religion. Those were his things." Over the years, he and his cousins frequented LDS youth groups, attended church most Sundays—often walking to the chapel because his mother didn't know how to drive—and latched on to the mainstream Mormon culture that was easily accessible in LDS-heavy Nevada.

Conant told BuzzFeed that Rubio never requested to have his name removed from the LDS Church's records, which means officially, the church is likely still counting him as a member.

Michelle said the family eventually started identifying as Catholic—once again, at Marco's urging. "He really convinced the whole family to switch religions," she said. "He's very vocal so he convinced them all the become Catholic."

The reason for his adamancy is unclear. But even while the conversion marked a return to his family's religious roots, it wasn't the end of his spiritual evolution. While Rubio continues to identify as a Conservative Roman Catholic, he frequently attends a non-denominational Baptist church with his family in Florida. As his notoriety increases, both communities have sought to lay claim to the rising political star, with little resistance from Rubio himself.

To me, one's religious affiliation doesn't matter as long as they can grasp that their personal religious beliefs should not affect laws and policies in a manner that harms the religious freedoms of other citizens - something the Christianist clearly refuse to grasp. The batshitery being pushed by the Christianists and Virginia GOP is a case inn point of how personal belief needs to remain out of public policy.