US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s faith emerged as little more than a secondary issue on the US campaign trail, but with the Republican nomination securely in his grip, are US voters now ready for a Mormon president?
The candidate made history late on Tuesday as the first person from his religion to win the nomination of a major political party and the achievement helps show how far the acceptance of Mormonism has come since its founding in the US nearly two centuries ago.
Romney as president could be a golden opportunity for a church aiming to broaden its base across the US and internationally, but it is also fraught with risk.
Romney, who outlasted several rivals in a bruising primary battle, has become the unlikely flagbearer of a Republican movement heavily influenced by evangelical Christians, some of whom have called Mormonism a “cult.”
However, despite persistent skepticism about the faith — a Bloomberg News poll in March showed that more than one in three Americans hold an unfavorable view of the Mormon church — associate professor Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston said on Wednesday he thinks Americans are ready for a Mormon president.
“There will be a small segment of evangelical voters who won’t accept the Mormon faith as a tenet of Christianity, but most voters will be tolerant,” Rottinghaus said. “The big challenge for the Romney campaign was to get through the Republican primary process without a religious uproar.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has remained silent on the presidential campaign, even though Romney’s milestone could be seen as a plus for Mormonism.
“The church’s political neutrality is well established, and we have no interest in providing commentary on a political race,” said Eric Hawkins, a spokesman for the Utah-based church.
The breakthrough is tempered by the historic nature of the 2008 race, which achieved several firsts: Americans elected Democrat US President Barack Obama as their first black president, Sarah Palin became the first female Republican vice presidential pick, and Hillary Rodham Clinton almost earned her party’s nomination.
In 2000, Democrat Al Gore very nearly won the White House with Joe Lieberman, an orthodox Jew, as his running mate.
“Primary audiences in both parties are used to seeing diversity among the pool of potential nominees,” Rottinghaus said.
Romney is not the first Mormon to seek the White House. Church founder Joseph Smith ran in 1844, in part to press for greater civil liberties for members of his nascent church.
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman was a candidate this year, but his campaign failed to gain traction and he dropped out in January.
With the general election now in full swing, Obama and Romney are criticizing each other over economic policy. However, character and personal background form a piece of the puzzle and Romney’s faith will likely come under scrutiny.
For many Mormons, like Aaron Sherinian, a public relations professional, Romney’s nomination marks “a chance to talk about who we are, what we believe.”
However, “religion isn’t the issue on the ballot,” Sherinian said. “This election is going to be more about what’s happening to people’s pocketbooks than what’s being said over pulpits.”
Romney has spoken little about his religion, other than portraying himself as a man of faith with beliefs similar to those of other Christians.
In 2007, during his first presidential run, Romney gave an address about the role of faith in the US, but he mentioned Mormonism just once.
Earlier this month in an appeal to evangelicals, he gave the commencement speech at Liberty University, the US’ largest Christian college, and spoke of how “people of different faiths, like yours and mine” can find ways where “we can meet in common purpose.”
Some of the stigma faced by Mormons stems from the faith’s seemingly secret traditions — non-Mormons are barred from entering temples, for example.
The church is known for its missionaries, as well as its past practice of polygamy and strict rules against alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.
There are 6 million Mormons in the US, and three out of four describe themselves as conservative.
Earlier this month televangelist Pat Robertson, who himself ran for president in 1988 and is aligned with the Christian Right, said Romney’s faith was no longer an issue.
“It looks like the people who were worried about his Mormonism, at least that crowd is diminishing somewhat,” Robertson said on his show, The 700 Club. “The question is, if you have two candidates, you don’t have Jesus running against someone else. You have Obama running against Romney.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
RSS