Evangelicals urged not to shun Romney over his Mormonism

by Jim Brown
February 16, 2007

(OneNewsNow.com) - - A law professor and conservative talk-show host says Republican presidential candidate "Mitt Romney has a Mormon problem -- and so does the rest of the country." He cautions Christians against criticizing the candidate's Mormon beliefs during the campaign, saying such an approach will inevitably backfire.

Hugh Hewitt is a professor of law at Chapman University Law School and has spent the last year writing the forthcoming book A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every Conservative Should Know About Mitt Romney. The book discusses whether Romney's Mormon beliefs will help or hinder his campaign.

Hewitt, who has been covering the Church of Latter-day Saints since the mid-1990s for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), says the fact that Romney is a devout Mormon may deter Christians from voting for him -- but it should not. Still, he says a "startling" number of Americans say they could never vote for a Mormon.

"Now that is deeply antagonistic to the American civic religion, but it's also 'there,'" he acknowledges. "It's like arguing in 1960 that Kennedy's Catholicism wouldn't be an issue. Of course it was, [and consequently Romney's Mormonism] has to be dealt with," Hewitt continues. "It has to be a conversation with the American public -- and it's a very difficult one to have and a very delicate one to have."

The educator and author explains why he believes it must be a "delicate" conversation. He cautions individuals -- "especially Christians" -- to be "very, very careful" about the conversation "because secular enemies of God in the public square will delight if orthodox Christians use this moment to attack the unorthodox aspects of Mormonism."

Such an attack, says Hewitt, would likely "open the door to a renewal of anti-Christian bigotry in this country the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time," he emphasizes. And if it resulted in Romney losing his White House bid because he is a Mormon, it would be a "truly ruinous moment for Christians in the public square," the author adds.

Hewitt contends that Romney's perceived flip-flopping on issues such as abortion and homosexuality is the "creation of mainstream media and Romney opponents." According to Hewitt, Romney has been staunchly pro-life for several years and is "the most effective American-elected official in the effort to preserve traditional marriage."