Evangelicals may never take Romney on faith

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — The glowing reviews began tumbling in at once:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech on faith was powerful and convincing, analysts said -- sincere, effective, hit all the right notes.

But will it help Romney, a Mormon, win over the key voting bloc of conservative Christians?

The broad consensus: probably not.

"I'm not sure it's going to work for evangelical voters," said Collin Hansen, editor-at-large at the evangelical monthly Christianity Today. "Pure and simple, there are very dramatic differences" between the Mormon faith and other Christian traditions. "People wonder, does he really believe that -- and if so, can I really trust him?"

For more than a year, Romney and his strategists discussed the merits of giving a speech to formally address his faith. The matter grew more pressing in just the last two weeks, when Romney's once-formidable lead in Iowa's Republican caucuses evaporated as voters -- especially conservative Christians -- surged toward candidate Mike Huckabee, a onetime Baptist preacher. Huckabee also is gaining momentum in other states with early presidential contests.

So on Thursday morning, Romney stepped to the podium at the George Bush Presidential Library here to deliver an impassioned defense of religious liberties.

The speech drew inevitable comparisons with John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech about his Catholic faith. At one point, Romney even echoed Kennedy's words. Flanked by American flags, he pledged that he would not let his church dictate his policies.

"I am an American running for president," he said. "I do not define my candidacy by my religion."

But Romney also vowed that he would stand proudly by his beliefs as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Some believe that such a confession will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it," Romney said. "But I think they underestimate the American people."

Romney went on to vigorously defend the role of faith in public life. He described America as a nation under God, declared that history books should acknowledge "the creator," and insisted that judges must respect "the foundation of faith upon which our Constitution rests." He even expressed support for "nativity scenes and menorahs in public places."

Those are all issues that resonate well with evangelical voters.