How many times did Mitt Romney mention the word “Mormon,” or some variation thereof, in his “Faith in America” speech this morning? Once, by God-o-Meter’s count. Here’s the reference and what GOM takes to be the key passage of the speech, where Romney at once addresses the possible political danger his religion poses to his candidacy, pointedly refuses to distance himself from the Mormon Church, and then declines to discuss his religion any further:
“There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs.
“Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect believers of convenience.
Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world.
“There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.
“There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church’s distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes President he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths.
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posted December 6, 2007 at 11:32 am
It isn’t Mitt Romney’s values that I find so offensive, even though they are not mine. My problem is that I seriously question the intelligence of anyone who embraces Mormon theology, which in my opinion is pure fantasy. We already have a president whose theology has proven dangerous to the country, and we don’t need another one.
posted December 6, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Mitt gave a great speech. Thank God for religious freedom. Religious persecution usually begins with religious intolerance where closed minded individuals think other people’s faith is strange. One only needs to look at their own faith to see elements of fantasy. Hypocrasy is unbecoming of a Christian!!
posted December 6, 2007 at 3:41 pm
What strikes me about this excerpt is how it DOESN’T mesh with the rest of the speech. Romney tries to become the spokesperson for ALL religions, lumping everyone together as united in “a common creed of moral convictions.” Unfortunately for Romney, there’s a lot of variety to the moral convictions held around the US. For instance, devout Catholics consider both abortion and the death penalty counter to the right to life, while many evangelicals have no trouble banning abortion while supporting the death penalty.
Saying that moral and religious Americans share a “common creed” is simply an attempt to tell evangelicals “Hey, we’re not so different, you and I.”
We’ll see how well it worked.
posted December 7, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Great point Peterr. We can only hope that our morals in this great country do not diverge too much or converge to amorality. If this happens, we will be in real trouble. As John Adams said, when we have unchecked passions without morals, the constitution will fall. This is why it is so important that religions work together to fight secularism and not dispute each other on doctrinal differences. We only weaken the whole.