Mitt Romney tried to gain momentum in the tightening Republican presidential race Thursday by giving a high-profile speech that aimed to allay concerns about his Mormonism by stressing the importance of religious faith in America.
“I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it,” the Republican said at the presidential library of George H.W. Bush in College Station, Tex. “Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they’re right, so be it.”
Romney received an extended standing ovation when he told a story about members of the first Continental Congress in 1774 fretting about the looming war with the British.
“In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray, but there were objections,” Romney said. “They were too divided in religious sentiments, what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and 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,” he added. “And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation.”
The mid-morning speech was closely watched in the political world and was carried live on the three cable news channels. The intense coverage gave Romney a major political opportunity to advance his candidacy at a time when rival Republican Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, is surging in Iowa, home to many evangelical Christians.
Romney avoided delving into the theological tenets of Mormonism, which some evangelical Christians consider a cult. But he made clear he would not take orders on public policy from Mormon church leaders.
“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,” he vowed.
Romney likened his speech to one delivered by John F. Kennedy in 1960.
“Almost 50 years ago, another candidate from Massachusetts explained that hewas an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president,” Romney said. “Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion.”
“He sounded reasonable and sincere,” said Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek and a respected commentator on the intersection of politics and religion. “But his definition of religious liberty seemed limited to the right of religious people to choose a faith or a denomination when American tradition has always, at its best, protected the rights of those who choose not to believe.”
Indeed, Romney used the speech to rail against “the religion of secularism” and “the elimination of religion from the public square.”
At one point, Romney proclaimed: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind.”
John Green, director of the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life and a professor of political science at the University of Akron, called that “one of the boldest statements of faith that I can ever remember.”
