MITT ROMNEY'S Mormonism threatens his presidential candidacy in the same way that John F. Kennedy's Catholicism did when he ran for president in 1960. Overt and covert references to Romney's religion -- subtle whispering as well as unabashed inquiries about the controversial sect he belongs to -- plague his campaign. None of his responses so far have silenced the skeptics.
Recent polls indicate that from 25% to 35% of registered voters have said they would not consider voting for a Mormon for president, and conventional wisdom from the pundits suggests that Romney's biggest hurdle is his faith. Everyone seems eager to make his Mormonism an issue, from blue state secularists to red state evangelicals who view the religion as a non-Christian cult.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday June 17, 2007 Home Edition Opinion Part M Page 3 Editorial Pages Desk 0 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Politics and Mormonism: A June 10 Opinion article about Mitt Romney and Mormonism said the movie "September Dawn" opens in a few weeks. It is scheduled to open Aug. 24.
All of which raises the question: Are we religious bigots if we refuse to vote for a believing Mormon? Or is it perfectly sensible and responsible to be suspicious of a candidate whose creed seems outside the mainstream or tinged with fanaticism?
Ironically, Romney is the only candidate in the race (from either party) who has expressed discomfort with the idea of religion infecting the national dialogue. While his GOP rivals have been pandering to the evangelical arm of the party, Romney actually committed himself (during the first Republican debate) to the inviolable separation of church and state.
To understand Romney and the unique political obstacle his religion imposes, and to determine if the Mormon vision for America has relevance in a 21st century presidential campaign, one must explore the fundamentals of the religion -- both where it's been and where it is today. The Mormon Church -- officially, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- is perceived as a fringe religion by many Americans, yet it is perhaps the most homegrown of American faiths. Founded in 1830 in upstate New York by a charismatic farm boy named Joseph Smith Jr. -- the sect's "prophet, seer and revelator" -- the religion was not Judaic, Christian or even monotheistic, at least not in any traditional sense.
Smith claimed to have received divine revelations from an angel named Moroni, who visited him and directed him to restore God's true religion on Earth -- to gather the lost tribes of Israel and establish the new Zion in North America. His proposed theocracy of evangelical socialism -- a precursor to Marxian communism -- offered a seductive utopia in a moment of theological and political schism.
