Romney declares centrality of faith, stresses freedom of religion
In the most closely-scrutinized moment of his presidential campaign, Mitt Romney declared this morning that faith is central to his life and to America, but says he will not be a spokesman for Mormonism or serve only his religion if he is elected president.
"When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God," said Romney, who is seeking to become the nation's first Mormon president. "If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States."
The 25-minute speech, at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, is being treated as a major campaign event by the media. The cable networks covered it live.
Romney was introduced by the former president, George H.W. Bush, who said while he was not endorsing any candidate, warmly praised Romney and his family.
Romney appeared emotional and seemed to struggle to hold back tears at the end, when the hand-picked audience gave him a standing ovation.
Some compared Romney's speech to the one given by John F. Kennedy in his 1960 campaign before he was elected the nation's first Catholic president. And though he downplayed the comparison in the days leading up to the speech, Romney specifically cited Kennedy and that 1960 speech.
"Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president," Romney said on a stage festooned with American flags. "Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.
"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.
While Romney said he will not be a spokesman for his faith or impose it on others, neither will he turn his back on it, as some would like.
"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.
While Romney did not detail the tenets of Mormonism, he said that his faith is squarely in the country's Judeo-Christian traditions.
"It is important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions," he will say. "And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it's usually a sound rule to focus on the latter - on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people."
And he went to explicitly praise other faith traditions.
"I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life's blessings.
Romney also strongly defended the role of faith in American life and government.
"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America the religion of secularism. They are wrong.
"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.' "
And Romney said that he carries out his faith in his daily life and his family has over the years.
"I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor," he says. "I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others, in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways in leading national volunteer movements."
"My faith is grounded on these truths. You can witness them in Ann and my marriage and in our family. We are a long way from perfect and we have surely stumbled along the way, but our aspirations, our values, are the self -same as those from the other faiths that stand upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform my presidency."
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Two things. 1) Romney will say whatever it takes to become president. He's trying to appease evangelical Christians by saying his faith matters enough to guide his decisions in office. He's trying to reassure othe rest of us that his faith doesn't matter and won't guide his decisions in office. 2) Who cares what religion the president it. It should be absolutely irrelivant.
As the governer he went out of his way to move against gay rights of marriage, wasn't this a religious issue.
the court seemed to think so
I read the entire speech on the website Christian Prophecy
( http://christianprophecy.blogspot.com/ ) and Romney seems thoroughly Presidential as well as sincere and convincing. Definitely read this speech.
I believe we have just heard from our next President.
Why should religion matter at all? I'd prefer a presidency rooted in reason over one based on faith.
he is too much
Pretty words- wonder if he believes it any more than any of the other things he said over the years
It is time for all thinking atheists to stand up and make our voices heard...
I have noticed a trend in America during my 32 years, a trend toward secularism. In ways large and small, (ex. banning religious music from schools, or trying to eliminate "under God" from the Pledge), I have seen a very motivated and connected group of people try to steer America toward a godless society.
This is why I am so please that one presidential candidate has taken on the subject head on, both for his own future and ours. With only occasional echoes of JFK's speech 40+ years ago, Romney sets his focus more squarely on how faith helps all people in the U.S., not just one particular candidate.
I hope that you are heartened and moved as much as me.
God bless you all.
This is a good speech and I think Mitt took a risk by doing this, but it will put him out in front as the leader of his party.
This was a good speech, but the idea is that i dont think the southern evangelicals will buy it. No matter what he says, he is still a mormon and he only mentioned that word once, i believe. I think Huckabee is going to be nominated because of his nature.
The comment that "freedom is religion" is downright Orwellian...and yes, religion IS a private matter and should NOT have place in the public place OR public policy.
Religion has no place in government. A secular society is the only type that can preserve freedom for any significant amount of time. "Separation of church and state" does not actually appear anywhere in the Constitution but neither do the phrases like "right to privacy" or even "right to a fair trial." Does this mean that no American has a right to privacy or a fair trial? The First Amendment (even if only by an implied principle) ensures that the government does not get involved with establishing, enforcing, or promoting particular religions. Separating church and state is what allows true religious liberty to exist in this country. To say that freedom and religion are synonomous is false. If this is the direction that our country is headed for 4 more years I am deeply disturbed.
A state religion indeed is the opiate of the masses, however faith is not since it cannot be fully embodied and controlled by a Church or religious tradition to be forced upon citizens. Faith is expressed in religion but also in politcs and many aspects of life. I believe Romney's position is endorsed by our constitution under 'freedom of speech' act. Personally, I find it noble when someone is forthcoming, especially about his/her religion. At least we know what we're dealing with.
"The First Amendment (even if only by an implied principle) ensures that the government does not get involved with establishing, enforcing, or promoting PARTICULAR religions." I believe this is an inaccurate paraphrase, but, even using this statement as is, it suggests a government that is representative of many religions rather than none. ("particular") Religion does have a limited place in government. I believe this speech should have been unnecessary; however, if it the issue simply had to be addressed, I believe Romney addressed it well. This is in no way an endorsement, but he definitely moved up the ladder.
He was MIA 250 days as the Gov. of Mass.
I don't think he has a prayer of winning the presidency.
Christians, or people who believe in the existence of God and his moral teachings, should work together to make this nation and this world a better place, not insist so fiercely on their differences.
Great speech. I agreed with everything he said because it just makes sense.
Still not voting for him though.
Romney is going to say whatever it takes just to get votes. I am an "Evangelical" from Mass and I am definetely NOT voting for him - even if he wasn't a Mormon. I have greater issues with his inability to see that we need comprehensive immigration reform. America badly needs immigrants and all of the economic, social and moral contributions it receives already.
Maybe I was unclear. The First Amendment should ensure that the government does not get involved with promoting ANY particular religion.
Slick Willy will say whatever it takes to get elected you really think he is not going to let the hierarchy of the Mormon political cult influence the Whitehouse and further divide the red and blue debate in this country? Separation of church and state along with our rights will be further eroded by THIS politician count on it. He was BAD for the state of Massachusetts hell be even WORSE for this country.
Romney makes me sick. He is such a hypocrite. He feels he is being treated unfairly because he is a Mormon and he finds that un-American....yet, as governor of Massachusetts, he did everything he could to take away the rights of gay people to marry. Now he knows how it feels to be unfairly judged by others who happen to be different than him. Very ironic...what goes around, comes around.
So if he states "A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith." then why should Gay's be rejected from getting married?
Go check out denverpost.com, a place that actually allows freedom of speech from its community. Unlike this pseudo forum of censorship. I expect more out of you guys.
This is a frightening development. This is a nation that is largely focused on justifying actions based on religious dogmata. But, and I know others may disagree, our world's problems are largely driven by religious justifications for atrocious acts of war and domination rather than humanistic justifications for compromise and constructive and creative solutions to global and local human needs.
Agnosticism and atheism are considered tantamount to criminal perspectives in our culture and in many others. But, often an agnostic is the brave soul amongst other who is willing to accept not knowing and find the beauty in the greater universe a wonder.
Sadly all candidates are forced into defining a religious underpinning to their protocols and proposals rather than plans and perspectives defined on their own merits.
Religion controls this country's direction, as does a xenophobic view of the "others."
Our world is still in the middle ages. We need to grow up and leave our adolescent irrationality behind us and view the full globe as the community, no just our narrow neighborhoods....
Just another sample of word candy- sweet and nothing but empty calories.
This is the only candidate with competence and integrity, and the only one I can trust. But I'll vote for him mostly because he has an ideology that matches mine. He sees things just as I do, and as I believe most of us do.
I am sorry ,I disagree with his speech . If he has such a strong faith , he would not try to convince the voters about his religion. I live among mormons for 39 years and they are a hateful people to all that are not of their faith. I do not tolerate liars, that will say any thing to gain the presidency, 4 years of Mitt Romney will be disasterous.
Romney is a hypocrite, he insists on the religious freedom and yet denies essential rights to homosexuals as well as inadeqately funded essential Gay-Straight alliances in schools, the same alliances that were established in Massachusetts in response to the saddening statistic of gay suicide rates. Being a person with faith is great, being a person of a faith despite prejudice is even greater, but being a person victim to intolerance and then cast intolerance is dispicable.
I came to boston.com expecting to see a story about an important groundbreaking speech by a mass. politician and was greeted by a picture of ted kennedy with a link to the romney speech. I am a democrat and the "journalists" that run this site should be ashamed that they cant cover the romney speech without interjecting their own not-so-subtle views. It was an important political event---give it its due.
Mitt, I was very impressed. I especially appreciated that you wrote the speech yourself. It clearly came from the heart.
Mitt's religion is an issue only because the radical liberal media made it an issue (Exhibit A- recent PBS series on Mormons; coverage by Boston Globe & NY Times; etc.). How liberals have convenient amesia and forget how often their hero of the 60's, JFK, invoked religion and God's blessing many times in his speeches. Nice job, Mitt.
Mr. Romney's promise before he was elected was that he would not touch gay rights laws and that he would not allow his religion to affect his governance of Massachusetts. Can you imagine two years after the wedding, worrying that your marriage might suddenly not be valid any more? I have friends who Mr. Romney's actions greatly affected. As far as I can tell, he doesn't think beyond his own world, and certainly not if it goes against Mormon teachings. Telling us that he thinks one cannot have freedom without religious tolerance is unbelievable. If he could have repealed legal same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, it is clear to me that he would have done so, with or without legislative approval. Mitt's religion is an issue because he has made it one, time and again.