The Washington Post’s On Faith Blog features responses to Romney’s “Faith in America.” I wonder if/what Michael Otterson will post. Or if he’ll sit this one out as to avoid any appearance of an offical Church response other than the restatement of neutrality? (Never mind, just after I clicked “post” they have a special post by Otterson discussing “Are Mormons Christians?“)
After nearly thirty years of overt pandering to and exploitation of religious fear and sentiment, the Republicans have unleashed the dogs of sectarianism on one of their own and probably their strongest candidate. As a Democrat, I confess that such self-destructive behavior is gratifying. As a Latter-day Saint, it’s not that much fun to watch. I have fantasies of sending the dogs back on self-proclaimed “Christian leader” Huckabee. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjtGgfhKIvo. But, two wrongs do not make right.
I liked Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” speech. . . People continue to ask if a revelation to the head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be binding on him in the political realm. His answer was uncompromising: no. Wouldn’t this get him in trouble with his own church? The answer again is no. For over a century, the official church has explicitly stated that Latter-day Saint politicians are not bound by the church’s political stands.
This much-heralded speech was being likened to John Kennedy’s 1960 speech. Ironically, Romney handled the situation in a more consistent way than Kennedy did, the latter saying he would not allow his religious convictions to influence his policies. But for any person of faith, his religious convictions cannot be ignored. Romney walked the fine line better than Kennedy did.
The speech Mitt Romney just delivered is in my view an instant classic in American civil religion . . .
Going farther than most other conservative Republicans, Romney thoroughly entangled religion and freedom, which, he argued, “endure together, or perish alone.” But he sounded more like a 1960s liberal than a 21st Century conservative when it came to his vision of the religious character of America. Instead of simply saying that he respects other religions, Romney said he envied and even loved features of all the faiths he has encountered, Judaism and Islam included. Refusing to serve as a spokesperson for his own faith, Romney said that if he becomes President he will “need the prayers of the people of all faiths.”
Blog co-founder, Sally Quinn thought that the line ‘Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom” should have come from Osama Bin Laden.
