Mitt Romney: Faith in America
His speech on religion was one of the defining moments of the 2008 presidential campaign. Revisit analysis of what Republican president candidate Mitt Romney had to say about his Mormon faith and religion in America.
Allen Hertzke: An Eloquent and Evocative Address
It was designed to allay concerns of evangelicals, tie his personal story to the nation’s heritage, and appeal to the broader public. But it remains to be seen whether it will do enough to win the hearts of born-again Christians who still view Mormonism as a non-Christian cult.
Charles T. Mathewes: Romney and the Eisenhower Approach
The distinctions Romney drew are very unusual, historically speaking, and it is still not at all clear that those distinctions are right — that in fact we can imagine religion and politics as totally separate spheres of human life without tension between them.
David Davenport: A Good Speech, But Will It Do Any Good?
Romney faced high expectations and an almost impossible dilemma as he delivered this message. On one hand, the American people as a whole are ambivalent about the matter of faith and religion in their public leaders. They want leaders who are religious enough to have strong personal values, but who are not too religious in the sense of looking to God to tell them which policies to adopt.
David O’Brien: Is America the Real Religion?
Governor Romney says some wise things about faith and freedom and politics… He unfortunately joins the crowd of christians who love to bash the straw man of secularism.
David P. Gushee: God and Country with a Mormon Twist
I want to know how any presidential candidate who claims to be a religious believer translates that faith commitment into moral convictions and then, by extension, rings such convictions to bear on policy positions.
James K.A. Smith: The God of Americanism
Romney has indicated in no uncertain terms that he is an “Americanist,” like almost every other president candidate.
Kimberly H. Conger: Not a Recipe for a Romney Win
A focus on civil religion and the importance of faith in Americans’ lives is not enough for most evangelicals to choose a Mormon.
Leo Ribuffo: God and the Presidency from Jack to Mitt
The speech shows that Romney has begun to think about questions that he will face over and over and over again if he wins the Republican nomination.
Randall Balmer: Mitt Romney’s Defining Moment
Romney sought to downplay his faith, protesting that he is not a spokesman for Mormonism. But many voters, evangelicals epsecially, have not been mollifed.
Richard Wightman Fox: “A Memorable American Political Oration”
Romney said nothing about his specifically Mormon beliefs, but everything he said about faith in America — his own and everyone else’s — was subtly and potently informed by his memory of the persecution experienced by his Mormon ancestors.
Ronald C. White Jr: Get Right with Religion
Romney made a thoughtful argument for the role of religion in the public square that he hopes can reach across denominational divisions. The question he did not address was what was the content of that religion?
Steve Monsma: Good As Far As It Goes
Anyone who might have felt that being a Mormon is in by itself disqualified one from serving as president of all the American people should be reassued by what Romney had to say.
