Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus assured social conservatives on Monday that the GOP was not going to embrace “tolerance” as part of its rebranding efforts.

“I don’t know if I’ve used the word ‘tolerance,’ I don’t really care for that word myself,” he told the Christian Broadcasting Network. “I don’t have a problem with it, I just think it has another meaning politically that can go the other direction.”

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Priebus said Republicans would continue to oppose same-sex marriage and seek to ban abortion in the United States. He described both as “foundational issues,” but said Republicans needed to adopted a more tolerant tone.

“If you’re looking at the evidence, what you will see is a party that embraces life, a party that embraces marriage and a chairman that understands that there’s only one sovereign God and that we ultimately aren’t dependent on what happens in politics,” Priebus explained. “What ultimately matters in our lives is that we’re salt and light in the world and that we’re honoring God in the things that we do every day. I get that. I think our party gets that and there’s never been a movement away from that.”

An “autopsy report” released by the RNC earlier this year encouraged Republicans to reach out to LGBT voters, citing “generational difference within the conservative movement.” Less than a month later, the RNC unanimously adopted resolutions opposing same-sex marriage.

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