Posted on 08/08/2007 8:00:00 AM PDT by greyfoxx39
Mitt Romney's own Republican Party has made religion fair game, and Romney will be asked how his faith would affect his policies.
-SNIP-
But Mitt Romney is a serious contender in 2008, rich and disciplined, and he's running in an era when presidential candidates are virtually expected to parade their religiosity. This is particularly true in the Republican camp, where religion and politics are now routinely intertwined; indeed, candidate George W. Bush upped the ante in 2000, when he said that his favorite philosopher was Jesus, ''because he changed my life.''
So it's no surprise Romney is facing questions about his lifelong devotion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the breakaway theology that considers itself humankind's ''one true church.'' He had hoped to stonewall this issue, insisting in a TV interview 18 months ago that ''I'm never going to get into a discussion about my personal beliefs.''
But today word is circulating that Romney will discuss his faith in an autumn speech - and seek to disarm the skeptics much the way John F. Kennedy in 1960 dampened fears that a Catholic president would take orders from Rome.
Romney is dealing with potential hostility, fair or not, on several fronts. Many Christian fundamentalists, particularly southern Baptists, dismiss Mormonism as a cult (thereby imperiling Romney in the GOP primaries, particularly in pivotal South Carolina). Many secular voters are uncomfortable with the church's passion for proselytizing and its superior attitude, particularly its scriptural insistence that all nonbelievers are worshiping ''the church of the devil.'' Pollsters say that at least 30 percent of voters won't back a Mormon.
Romney's biggest problem is that skeptics are simply weirded out. They cannot quite envision having a president who believes that a man named Joseph Smith dug up a book of golden plates, long buried in a hillside, with the help of an angel named Moroni in 1827; that these plates, written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, spelled out the precepts of the true Christian faith; that Smith translated these hieroglyphics by wearing decoder glasses and burying his head in a hat; that Jesus visited North America after the resurrection; that the Garden of Eden was really in Missouri.
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Some questions do seem appropriate. First, the Mormon faith puts a high premium on ''faith-promoting'' information, sometimes at the expense of unpleasant facts. As a high-ranking Mormon leader said in a famous 1981 speech, ''Some things that are true are not very useful.'' Would Romney be able to assure swing voters that he would not merely perpetuate the faith-based thinking, and the rejection of empirical reality, that has trapped us in a ruinous war?
Second, since the Mormons consider themselves stewards of ''a quintessentially American faith'' (Romney's words), and since Mormons believe Jesus will return and rule the world from U.S. territory, does this suggest that a President Romney might wave the flag a bit too fervently, at a time when we need to repair our relations around the world? The Mormon faith is heavily rooted in what is commonly called ''American exceptionalism,'' the belief that we are special and we know best. Would Romney govern accordingly, and, if so, would that be a help or a hindrance in the war on terror?
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What matters, in other words, is not whether he really thinks Joseph Smith met an angel in 1827. The crucial issue is whether, or how, a devout Mormon would apply his faith on the job in 2009. His supporters have suggested that any such questions are symptoms of religious bigotry, but it is the Republican Party, over the past several decades, that has put religion front and center. They have made Mitt Romney fair game.
The article first appeared in the Philadelphie Inquirer and it is no fan of President Bush, it appears. Would Romney be able to assure swing voters that he would not merely perpetuate the faith-based thinking, and the rejection of empirical reality, that has trapped us in a ruinous war?
If Dickie Polcat is against Romney, then Mitt can’t be all bad...
Ping
It’s interesting to me that Romney is planning a speech to address the situation.
When Barack Hussein Obama answers questions about his.
Why wait until fall? You can get the 3 minute crash
course on YouTube!
I think there will be consequences to it that will mean uncomfortable and irrelevant discussions of the religious beliefs of many conservative candidates from now on. Liberals don't care if a candidate is Mormon or not, but fellow Christians have now made it OK to attack a candidate's religion, so don't be surprised when it's used on you next.
I think Mormon-bashers have provided the rope with which the Left will hang many religious conservative candidates.
And what about Harry Reid? Isn’t he Mormon?????
But...we are and we do.....
susie
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/Caractors_large.jpg
Scribbled in the hand of J. Smith the founder, then maybe just maybe we should take his candidacy seriously.
Number of countries with flags on the Moon........ONE!
I think there will be consequences to it that will mean uncomfortable and irrelevant discussions of the religious beliefs of many conservative candidates from now on.
Liberals don't care if a candidate is Mormon or not, but fellow Christians have now made it OK to attack a candidate's religion, so don't be surprised when it's used on you next.
I think Mormon-bashers have provided the rope with which the Left will hang many religious conservative candidates.
You are so right. There will be a price to pay for making religion the defining issue in campaigns.
Excellent point!
susie
Let’s face it, I mean really, how could anyone vote for a man who has been deluded by and is a member of a cult? Do these delusions tell us anything about his decision-making abilities?
I have mixed feelings. I am not Mormon, but have family and friends who are. They seem normal, and they seem intelligent. I don’t know why they joined what seems to me to be a very out there religion. Then again, I suppose the story of Jesus is crazy to people who haven’t had their eyes opened.
I’m not sure it would make him a bad President. But I’m not convinced he would be a good one anyway.
susie
By your standards, then, no candidate should be elected who has beliefs that are odd to you, or to some undefined group of voters. Is that your position?
Look folks, Joseph Smith was a false profit period, so Mitt follows an anti-christ, I’m not voting for him ....
Well, gosh. If you say so, there's obviously no need for further discussion. The matter is closed.
What "mormon-bashing" are you referring to? They can't ask Mitt any tough questions without being accused of Mormon-bashing. When all else fails, being the victim is the go-to best solution by him and his supporters.
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