Former governor of Florida Jeb Bush spoke openly of his personal faith and defended religious freedom at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference on Wednesday.
Bush, who has not yet launched his anticipated presidential campaign, said "Christians need to have the space to be able to act on their conscience."
He switched between English and Spanish during his address to the 1,000 Latino Christian leaders gathered at the event in Houston, Texas. His parents, former President George HW Bush and Barbara Bush were also at the event.
Bush converted to his wife Columba's Catholic faith in 1994, something he described as "one of the most important times of my life".
"When I joined the Church, like millions before me and millions who will come after me, I discovered in Christ the grace to do the Lord's work," he said.
"There's no more powerful or liberating influence on this earth than the Christian conscience in action," he added. "And today in America it is important to respect and protect Christians acting on their faith."
Bush also spoke about the need "to fix a broken immigration system", and proposed that this would include expanding the opportunities for legal immigration.
Fellow Republican, Governor Mike Huckabee, who is expected to launch his presidential campaign next week, also championed religious freedom in America in his speech at the event.
"All of our ancestors came to this country hoping for something that we have been uniquely given and that is liberty – religious liberty. And it is under assault," the former governor of Arkansas said.
Referring to the ongoing same-sex marriage case being considered by the Supreme Court, Huckabee added: "May I say to you that I respect the courts, but the Supreme Court is only that – the supreme of the courts. But it is not the Supreme Being...the court cannot change what God has created."
