Romney in 2008

Hugh Hewitt points to this piece by Terry Eastland about Mitt Romney's chances for the Republican nomination in 2008. Eastland is fair toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a.k.a. Mormons, but doesn't make it the center of the discussion. Hugh quotes John F. Kennedy's response to concerns about his Catholicism, when he ran in 1960. Kennedy won in a squeaker, with some help from organized crimes, the Daley machine in Chicago and LBJ's organization in Texas. I suspect that there was a strong component of anti-catholicism in the votes against him, but in hindsight, most people think that a religious test for a candidate is unamerican. Of course, there is so much misinformation about the LDS faith floating around, that it will probably still play a part. Most of the anti-mormon sentiment today comes from protestant ministers who are aware of the church's growth through proselyting and see it as a threat to their own livelihood.

There's a Baptist "street preacher" who hangs around Temple Square in Salt Lake City and harangues people entering the temple through a bull horn. He used to harrass wedding parties who had just come from the temple, interfering with photos and generally trying to disrupt their family moments. He's now excluded from doing this on property owned by the church, but it has taken a court battle and at least $10,000,000 to get to this point. He's now limited to public sidewalks around Temple Square. Others hand out leaflets denouncing the Mormon faith.

At each General Conference, held each April and October, a number of people congregate outside the Conference Center and carry signs, chant antimormon slogans and generally form a gauntlet that members heading to and from the sessions must pass.

So, I expect a resurgence of anti-Mormon rhetoric if Romney runs, and that may hurt him. It doesn't make him a bad candidate though. Mormons have been treated like this since before there was an LDS church. The name of the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, yet protestants and presumably Catholics still claim that we're not Christians because we don't believe in doctrines which were adopted in the fourth century and later, and because we believe that Christ has only one true and living church on the earth. We don't hold with a number of traditional doctrines, such as the doctrine of the trinity or the unembodiment of God, but that these should lead to such vehemence suggests that there is another reason not being stated. Still, Romney ran strong against Ted Kennedy, who, despite his brother's earlier remarks, "Today, I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you -- until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped apart at a time of great national peril," made a campaign issue of Romney's religion. Then Romney was elected Governor in Massachusetts, quite a feat for a Republican. So stranger things have happened than his running for president. Time will tell.

Update: Bill Hobbs says he's and evangelical Christian and he'd vote from Romney, if he's the candidate, and adds this:

Here's a prediction: Should Romney mount a serious candidacy, the vast majority of any vilification of him based on his religious affiliation, his faith and the sometimes peculiar history of the LDS church will come from the Left, not from the Right.

I think that one of the best testimonials for Mormonism is the amount of persecution it has had from the begining and the fact that it continues to growth despite it. The reason is that conversion is based on seeking an answer, and receiving a confirmation, from God about its truth.

One thing I learned on my mission is that converts aren't aren't made by argument and quoting scripture. You can't argue someone into believing. All you can do is bear your testimony and invite him to listen and then pray about it.

I think people respect those who have principles and stand by them, but not scolds and people who try to build themselves by tearing down others. If the left smears Romney by attacking his religion, I think it will blow back in their faces. As for the religious right, all I can do is hope that they realize he's one of them.

Update: John J. Miller has a profile of Romney in the new National Review. The link is to NRO, but the full article requires a subscription.