COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In the most closely scrutinized moment of his presidential campaign, Mitt Romney declared yesterday that religion is central to his life and to America, but that he will not be a spokesman for Mormonism or serve the leaders of his church if he is elected president.
Under pressure to confront suspicions about his faith, Romney attempted to strike a delicate balance, and drew mixed reviews. Many religious conservatives applauded his acknowledgement of the role of faith in public life, but other evangelicals said he did not fully address their concerns about Mormonism. Some civil libertarians said they were unnerved by Romney's impassioned call to expand the role of religion.
In the glare of the national media spotlight, Romney mentioned Mormonism only once, but said he would not retreat from it.
"My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs," he said. "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 tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world."
And while he pledged to keep church and state separate, he also deplored what he called the diminution of religion in public life.
"I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from the God who gave us liberty," Romney said, drawing applause from about 300 invited guests, including religious leaders.
"In recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning . . . It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America - the religion of secularism. They are wrong," he said.
Evangelical leaders said they were heartened by the sentiments. Several said that the speech would go a long way toward quelling misgivings about Romney, but that it would not put to rest concerns among those evangelicals who consider Mormonism heretical.
"He changed a lot of hearts and minds, but he didn't change them all," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "Clearly, some of them are not going to have their hearts and minds changed, but I think a lot of them will take a second look."
The speech was aimed partly at evangelicals like Land, who was invited to the speech, and it gave Romney a prominent and distinctly presidential setting - not to mention free air time on national cable television - to introduce himself to the broader electorate.
The stage at the George Bush Presidential Library was set with red carpet, 10 American flags, a blue curtain, and a podium with an eagle emblem. Romney entered with the former president's arm on his shoulder.
George H. W. Bush said he was not endorsing a candidate, but he praised the Romneys as a "great American family" and Romney as "this good man." He called Romney's father, George, "one of my mentors" and an example of what it means to be a "point of light."
The seats were filled with Romney's friends from Utah, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.; Romney's wife, Ann, and four of their five sons sat in the front row.
The audience applauded 14 times during the 20-minute address - most when Romney said he wanted to encourage religion in public life.
"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom," Romney said. "Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."
Some compared Romney's speech to one given by John F. Kennedy in his 1960 campaign before he was elected the first Catholic president. Like Kennedy, Romney said he would not bow to pressure from his church.
"If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest," Romney said.
Kennedy mentioned his Catholicism 20 times, but Romney alluded to Mormon doctrines only once, when he said he believes Jesus is the savior of mankind, but added that other Mormon beliefs about Christ may not be the same as other Christians'.
Gary Bauer, a former presidential candidate, said he was pleased with the approach.
"I think he did the right thing in not trying to explain or sell people on the specific details of Mormon theology," Bauer said in a telephone interview. "And I thought that his strong appeal to the idea that American liberty is ultimately strengthened by a strong faith-based set of values is the right analysis."
But Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said Romney did not go far enough to answer questions about Mormonism. "This only exacerbated the mystery and concerns," Page said in a telephone interview. "I do hope at some point that he will come out and be a little more open about it."
During hours of TV coverage of the speech, some political analysts said Romney's campaign was still vulnerable, but others marveled at how presidential he appeared.
But the Anti-Defamation League and others said they were concerned that a presidential candidate felt forced to publicly declare his faith.
"While it's good for Americans to hear a Republican candidate talk about the value of religious diversity, and the ways that church-state separation supports America's vibrant religious life, Romney undermined that message with his appeals to the Religious Right," People For the American Way said in a statement. "One thing is for sure, Romney is no Jack Kennedy."
In the speech, Romney drew on history and the language of Christianity to place Mormonism squarely in the nation's Judeo-Christian heritage and to argue that America is a tolerant but deeply religious nation.
He quoted President John Adams and asserted that America is united by a quest for religious freedom that stretches from Ann Hutchinson, who was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, and Roger Williams, who was banished to Rhode Island, to Brigham Young, the Mormon leader who settled in Utah.
"You can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me," Romney said.
At the end of his speech, Romney brought the audience to its feet with an anecdote about the First Continental Congress in 1774. Boston was occupied by British troops and there were fears of war. Someone suggested praying. Someone objected, saying the group was divided among Episcopalians, Quakers, Anabaptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Catholics.
"Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot," Romney said. "And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation."
As the applause washed over him, the usually unflappable Romney paused, the emotion showing on his face.
"God bless this great land," he concluded. "God bless the United States of America."
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
(Correction: Because of an error by the Associated Press, a list of presidential candidates' faiths that accompanied a Page One story on Friday about Mitt Romney's speech on faith and politics included an incorrect denomination for Republican Fred Thompson. He is a member of the Church of Christ, according to his campaign.)
