Romney says speech to explore role of faith in public life

Adds it won't echo Kennedy address

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney spoke yesterday at the Rotary Club in Manchester, N.H. Romney is planning to make a speech on religion and faith on Thursday. (cheryl senter/Associated Press)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Mitt Romney said yesterday that his closely watched speech Thursday about religion would explore the role of faith in public life but not detail the particulars of his own Mormon faith.

Mormonism remains a mystery to many voters and analysts said the speech could fuel more questions about the religion, particularly in Iowa and South Carolina, where evangelical Christians are influential in the Republican presidential race.

Romney said his speech would not echo the address made by John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential campaign in which Kennedy stressed the "absolute" separation of church and state and pledged not to request or accept instructions on public policy from the Pope or other Catholic leaders.

"President Kennedy really did give the definitive speech on politics and religion, the political process, and religious discrimination," Romney said in answer to a question about the speech at a Rotary Club luncheon. "I don't have anything really to add to what he did, so I'm speaking on a related but different topic which is the role of religion in a free society, faith in America, and the fact that I'm concerned that faith has disappeared in many respects from the public square."

"I want to make sure we maintain our religious heritage in this country, not of a particular brand of faith, not of a particular sect or a denomination but rather the great moral heritage we have that is so critical to the great future of this country," added Romney, who is seeking to become the nation's first Mormon president.

In a press conference outlining his speech, Romney quoted the New Testament, and spoke about the founding fathers, but never used the words Mormon or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said if people want to learn more about his religion, they can look on the Internet.

"I'm certainly not a spokesman for my faith - don't anticipate ever doing that," Romney said.

The speech at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, is a potentially pivotal moment for Romney. Polls show between 25 and 40 percent of Americans say they would not vote for a Mormon for president. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher, has jumped to a slight lead over Romney in polls in Iowa, in part by promoting himself as a Christian leader defined by his faith.

"[Romney] has to talk about faith and religious values if he's going to be a candidate, but the Catch-22 is that the more he does that, the more he invites questions about what is your personal faith?" said Daron Shaw, a University of Texas political scientist and a strategist for President Bush in the 2000 and 2004 elections who is not involved in this campaign.

Romney has been considering such a speech for months, but only drafted the text last Thursday, in his hotel room the day after the GOP debate in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Asked why Romney did not give the speech earlier, Tom Rath, a senior Romney adviser, said: "A lot of it goes back to the normal reluctance anyone has to opening their lives to scrutiny. [But] it's part of the process, and he's gotten comfortable with it."

Shaw said Romney needed to recast the debate over religion before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. "I think they decided it's fish or cut bait," Shaw said. "It was kind of his chance to reshape the dynamic."

Romney said he was not sure religion was a big factor in the race. He said voters will judge him by his values. "In the New Testament it was said, by the fruits you should know them," Romney said. "I hope the fruits people can look at for me would be the fruits of my family, the values we have there."

GOP rival John McCain agreed yesterday, saying on Fox News Network: "I am firm in my belief that most Americans will not do anything but judge Governor Romney for his ability to be president, not to deal with his religion."

Romney is not the only GOP candidate to face questions about personal faith. Fred Thompson, for instance, has been criticized in some quarters for not attending church regularly. "I have no apologies to make about my religion or my relationship to Jesus Christ or God," Thompson said on CNN yesterday. "I'm OK with the Lord, and the Lord is OK with me as far as I can tell."

"So that's all that's important to me, and the rest, we'll have to work around that," added Thompson, who said it was "not for me to pass judgment" on Romney or his religion.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.