Meet these senators who are unafraid to talk about their faith

Four Republican senators attended a gathering of social conservatives on Thursday, encouraging activists not to give up their fight against those in the party who want to distance the party from religious issues.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington DC was attended by Marco Rubio (R.-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI).

The senators spoke to the Faith and Freedom Conference to talk about their accomplishments and their beliefs.

Rubio made his case for comprehensive immigration reform while emphasizing that compassion should be central to the debate. "We know every single human life has value," he said. "Every single human life matters" and "deserves protection of our laws and values."

"There is nothing to replace us. I promise you, it's not the United Nations," Rubio warned. "If America's light is extinguished, there is no other light."

Also Republican, but taking a rarer viewpoint was Rand Paul. Paul spoke out against war saying, "Jesus preached nonresistance," and he "simply can't imagine" Jesus leading soldiers.

Paul also protested foreign aid for countries such as Egypt and Pakistan where Christians are persecuted. He also argued against intervention in Syria.

Paul explained that there is a war on against Christianity not just in the United States, but worldwide. And he added " "These countries are not our true allies, and no amount of money is going to make them so. . I say not one more penny to countries that are burning the American flag."

Lee addressed the group and explained that conservatives need to spend more time talking about what they support rather than what they oppose. He placed emphasis on the community and the family.  "Conservatism has never been a vision of isolated loners," he said.

"Some say we have to change with the changing times," Lee said. "Change the way we say things and talk about families. . I think they make a great point. Times have changed, we do need to broaden our appeal. But ultimately the critics have it exactly backwards. . It's not that we've focused too much on the family, but far too little. The rapid changes we've seen have only made the family more important, not less."

Talking about poor students, single moms, and the elderly and disabled, Lee said, "Our party has ignored them."

Finally, Johnson spoke against Obamacare and liberals who he says are behind the failings of American society. He also spoke out against the growth of government. Referring to Washington he said, "Why does a majority continue to elect people who want to grow this place? "I have no idea. It baffles me," he said.

Embrace your Faith

He added, "When I hear politicians want to create a sense of trust in government--," he explained his action is " No, no, no, no, no. That's is the wrong solution."

"We need to engender that healthy distrust -- that healthy distrust that our founders found in government," Johnson concluded.

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