Romney, Eye on Evangelicals, Defends His Faith
Mitt Romney asked the nation on Thursday not to reject his presidential candidacy because of his religion, assuring evangelical Christians and other religious voters that his values matched theirs in a speech that used the word “Mormon” only once....
Afterward, Mr. Romney’s advisers said privately that they hoped the speech would help him with his other, arguably larger, obstacle: lingering questions about the firmness of his convictions given his shifting positions and tone on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control over the years.
When John F. Kennedy addressed the issue of his Roman Catholic religion in a similar speech when he was running for president in 1960, he took hostile questions hurled at him by ministers. Mr. Romney’s was a friendly crowd that included, in the front row, four of his five sons and his wife, Ann, as well as many affiliated with the campaign.
And Kennedy and Mr. Romney were reaching for different goals. Kennedy was trying to convince the ministers that his faith would not dictate his governance, while Mr. Romney was highlighting how the values he derived from his faith — and shared with religious conservatives — would inform his leadership.
To that end, he recalled the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the fall of 1774, when Boston was occupied by British troops and war loomed.
Someone suggested the members pray, he said, but some there voiced objections, because there were too many divisions among various churches.
“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,” Mr. Romney said. “And so together they prayed, and, together, they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation.”
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Afterward, Mr. Romney’s advisers said privately that they hoped the speech would help him with his other, arguably larger, obstacle: lingering questions about the firmness of his convictions given his shifting positions and tone on issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control over the years.
When John F. Kennedy addressed the issue of his Roman Catholic religion in a similar speech when he was running for president in 1960, he took hostile questions hurled at him by ministers. Mr. Romney’s was a friendly crowd that included, in the front row, four of his five sons and his wife, Ann, as well as many affiliated with the campaign.
And Kennedy and Mr. Romney were reaching for different goals. Kennedy was trying to convince the ministers that his faith would not dictate his governance, while Mr. Romney was highlighting how the values he derived from his faith — and shared with religious conservatives — would inform his leadership.
To that end, he recalled the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the fall of 1774, when Boston was occupied by British troops and war loomed.
Someone suggested the members pray, he said, but some there voiced objections, because there were too many divisions among various churches.
“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,” Mr. Romney said. “And so together they prayed, and, together, they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation.”