Pressed, Romney to speak on his Mormonism

Will 'share views on religious liberty' as a Baptist rival leaps ahead in Iowa

Mitt Romney met members of the Iowa Christian Alliance at a house party Friday in Dubuque. (Rick Gershon/Getty Images)

After months of debate within his campaign organization, Mitt Romney has decided to give a speech addressing his Mormon faith, a potentially pivotal step that reflects the surging candidacy of Mike Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher who has been promoting himself explicitly as a Christian leader.

Kevin Madden, a Romney spokesman, said yesterday that Romney would give the speech titled "Faith in America" on Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

"This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation, and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected," Madden said in a statement. "Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."

The biggest historical precedent for Romney's decision is the speech that John F. Kennedy delivered before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association during the 1960 presidential campaign. Kennedy sought in the speech to allay concerns among voters about his Catholicism.

Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, said the decision by Romney is in response to gains being made by Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor.

"There's only one reason for it - Huckabee," Wolfe said. "Huckabee is pulling ahead of him in Iowa, so that, I'm sure, forced his hand."

Huckabee has jumped to a slight lead among Republicans in the Iowa polls and is airing a TV ad in the state that bills himself as a Christian leader. Wolfe called the ad an attempt to spotlight doubts about Romney's faith among evangelical Christian voters, who exert a large influence in the Republican presidential primary.

Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor and Romney supporter who holds a leadership position in the Mormon Church, saw the decision as a sign that Romney is making a serious bid to become the first Mormon president.

"I'm delighted that he's decided to do it," Christensen said. "It really is a great church, and the more people can understand what it is and what it does, the more I think they'll trust that he acts in the best interests of the country."

Romney has been considering such a speech for months, cognizant that polls have found that between 25 and 40 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for president.

Romney said last month that he wanted to give such a speech but his advisers had urged him not to. Last week, Senator Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who is a fellow member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, argued that Romney must give such a speech because many Americans misunderstand the religion.

In his 1960 speech, Kennedy said he would not bow to pressure from Catholic leaders.

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the president [should he be Catholic] how to act, and . . . where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him," Kennedy said.

Wolfe said Kennedy's approach would not be a strong model for Romney because many Republican voters, particularly Christian conservatives, bristle at the notion of separation of church and state and want religion to be a guiding principle for the next president.

"Kennedy's speech was actually an antireligion speech; it was a don't pay-any-attention-to-my-Catholicism speech," Wolfe said. "In the 2007 Republican Party you can't do that, because it's a party that essentially has a religious test for the nomination."

Romney has handled questions about his religion carefully so far. He has talked about Jesus as his "personal savior," language more commonly associated with evangelical Christianity.

He has also sought to defuse myths with humor, joking that "as a Mormon, I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman . . . and a woman, and a woman."

Occasionally, he has waded into complicated theological territory. Last week, asked during the GOP debate if he believed every word of the Bible, Romney said, "I might interpret the word differently than you interpret the word, but I read the Bible and I believe the Bible is the word of God."

Unspoken was the Mormon belief that "As the Bible was compiled, organized, translated and transcribed, many errors entered the text," according to LDS.org, an official church website.

The site notes that in addition to the Bible, Mormons revere and study Mormon texts such as the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the words of modern prophets and apostles.

Wolfe said the theological differences could put Romney in an awkward position.

"If he says something about Mormonism as his actual religion, it's not going to please evangelicals too much," Wolfe said. "But if he gives the kind of Jesus-is-my-personal-savior speech, evangelicals won't buy it and he's going to alienate his own Mormon friends."

Wolfe said the wisest approach might be to explain the differences and similarities between Mormonism and mainline Christianity.

"If I were in his shoes, I would take a more honest approach and say this what I am, this is what Mormons believe, this is why we're Christians," Wolfe said. "He can't deny who he is."