Mitt Romney says he believes all tenets of Mormonism, including the idea that church leaders are divinely “inspired,” but insists he would not accept their advice if elected president.
In an interview for the new book, “Meet the Next President,” Romney foreshadowed the themes of a major speech on religion that he plans to deliver on Thursday.
“I believe in my church and I’m not a cafeteria member of my church,” the Republican presidential candidate told The Examiner. “I accept the teachings of my church and so that assumes all of the teachings of my church.”
Romney said he anticipates specific queries about his religion.
” ‘Would you go to the church leadership to ask their opinion on an important issue?’ The answer is no, I would not. ‘If you were to receive a call from the church leadership with a view on an issue, would you accept the call?’ No, I would not.”
Why not?
“Because I believe in a separation between a person who is a secular leader and the hierarchy of a church,” Romney said. “And so I can describe those things without getting into: ‘Do you believe the leaders of your church are inspired?’ Well, of course I do. ‘Well, if you believe they’re inspired, then why wouldn’t you take their advice on what you should do in Iraq?’ ”
The former Massachusetts governor, who switched from backing abortion rights to opposing it in 2004, already sees a potential conflict with Mormon leaders on the question of when life begins.
“I believe that life begins at conception,” he said. “Our church thinks that the spirit doesn’t enter until much later.”
Consequently, Romney has found himself in theological disagreements with other Mormons, including the senior senator from Utah.
“My friend Orrin Hatch, who’s a strong member of my faith, says, ‘Mitt, you’re wrong. The spirit doesn’t enter the body until much later.’ And he says, ‘Mitt, you know that, religiously, from the church. Our church doesn’t think the spirit enters that early.’ ”
Romney made clear that Mormon dogma on the issue would not trump his public policy position.
“I’m not looking at a religious definition of life. I’m looking at a civilization’s, at a civilized society’s definition of when life begins,” he said. “From the standpoint of a religious context, I don’t know when the spirit, or the soul, enters the body — and I haven’t tried to calculate that.”
An opponent of gay marriage, Romney believes that family is the basic building block of society and transcends the whims of government.
“Family’s been here from the beginning, it was ordained of divinity, and it should be protected for the strengthening of a society,” he said. “Much of our legal system flows, if you will, from the foundation of biblical commandments. And I think our secular society has forgotten that.”
