Will evangelicals support a Mormon for president?
August 30th, 2005Today’s Boston Globe contains a story about whether evangelical Christians will support the presidential candidacy of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon.
Notice the divergent viewpoints from Southern Baptists:
SBC president Bobby Welch said, “‘It would be extraordinarily hard for mainline denomination people in the South to openly and strongly politick or be involved in a Mormon’s run for office.”
David Dockery, president of Union University, however, said that while there may be key doctrinal differences between Mormons and evangelicals, “I don’t see that that would be an issue [in a presidential bid] because he would share many of the same views on political and cultural issues, especially related to life and family, the economy and the environment.”
Dockery is correct. I for one would be happy to support a Mormon for president if he shared my political opinions and convictions, as it seems that Romney does. I’d certainly rather support a conservative Mormon for president than a moderate or liberal Baptist.
What do you think? Will Romney’s Mormonism keep many evangelicals from supporting him?
Go to www.bugmenot.com if you need to get a login for the Boston Globe story.
Tim,
I agree with you. Having been involved in several moral/political issues over the past few years, I have found Mormons to be strong allies in the culture war. They are unyielding on issues that adversely affect the family.
The fact is, we live in a democracy which contains abundance of religious and cultural viewpoints. The great thing about this country is that citizens can form consensus and alliances with others with differing backgrounds to meet political ends. Thus we can back candidates with vastly differing religious points of view. This whole line of questioning says more about the mindset of the reporter than it does about the political reality. Did anyone ask democrats whether they could support John Kerry a Catholic.
Well, I’m slightly concerned about one thing. I could be totally wrong, so please tell me if I am. I haven’t researched this or anything, but this just came to my mind. This is the Gov. of Massachusetts? Didn’t he have the control over issues such as gay marriage in that state? That scares me. I, personally, want another president who is a Christian. I am an extreme conservative, but I’d rather have a Liberal Christian president over a conservative Mormon. That’s just my opinion. I feel that religious views are slightly more important than political views. Don’t get me wrong, I love our country, I’m going to join the military as a Chaplain’s Assistant. But, I do love Jesus slightly more!
Gay marriage was legalized by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, so no, Romney didn’t have control over it.
In my mind, “religious views” that don’t translate into corresponding political actions are worthless, so I would have no problem favoring a conservative Mormon over a liberal Christian. I’m not ready to throw my support behind anyone this early though, and if I was I’d give it to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Peter is correct. The Mass. High Court directed the legislature to create same-sex “marriage.”
I don’t care so much about political leaders’ religious preference as about their beliefs and practices. Most Mormon leaders are way too conservative for my taste, that’s the problem. Now the guy who’s mayor of Salt Lake City, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat but I’m not sure if he’s Mormon.
Actually Romney was out front in the fight to amend the state constitution to undo gay marriage, which was “legislated” by the state supreme court. Any Republican who can get elected to statewide office in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts (I used to live there) is either:
A - compromising on social issues like abortion
or
B - someone who can get elected anywhere, including nationally.
I tend to think B in this case.
To the person who said they’d rather have a liberal Christian than a conservative Mormon… you’re saying that you’d rather elect Jimmy Carter (or someone with Tony Campolo or Jim Wallis’ viewpoint) than Mitt Romney? Not me!
The thing is, I feel that a faith is just more important. God is my everything, and I’m not ashamed of it. Of course I’d love to have a conservative in the White House, but if it’s between an anti-Christian and a liberal, I’m going with the liberal. That’s just how I feel…
But see Scott, we’re not talking about anti-Christians vs. liberals. We’re talking about Mormons vs. liberals. You may not think Mormons are Christians — as I don’t — but they’re certainly not anti-Christians when it comes to issues of public policy. In fact, they will have more in common with Christians on issues such as abortion, gay marriage, education — and a host of others — than they will with liberals.
I’ll take a non-Christian Mormon who opposes abortion and same-sex marriage any day before I take a liberal Christian who supports those same issues.
And, keep in mind, just because someone carries the title of “Christian” doesn’t necessarily mean they are one. Some liberal “Christians” will deny the exclusivity of the gospel and claim that Christ isn’t the only way to salvation. In my mind, that’s not “Christian” at all.
Well, I guess you’re right. That makes more sense now. It’s just that the beliefs of Mormons frustrate me. People don’t realize just how “off” they are. But, it is good that they do share some of the same morals as true Christians, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, ect.
But, if I had my way, we’d have a conservative Christian in the White House again; a true Christian. Too bad this is W.’s last term…
Alex, in response to your question: yes, I’d do backflips if either Jim Wallis or Tony Campolo were elected president! (And, before bringing out the pitchforks, be advised that neither of these gentlemen is pro-gay marriage or pro-abortion)
Who in their right mind thinks that W is a conservative?