It's time for Mitt Romney to answer the one relevant question about his religion. It is a query addressed in some detail by some of his GOP rivals. And by Barack Obama back when he was a candidate and as president.
Simply put: How will your understanding of your faith inform your governance?
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Romney is not just any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served as a bishop and then a stake president in Massachusetts. Mormons have no fulltime clergy, these rotating jobs carry at least as much religious importance as, say a Catholic priest or Protestant pastor.
That means a question about the governance particulars of Mormon faith and culture is particularly fair game for Romney. (Fellow GOP candidate Jon Huntsman, also Mormon, seems to have a less doctrinal connection to his faith.)
During the GOP debate before the recent Iowa straw poll, Byron York of the Washington Examiner asked a provocative question: "Mr. Cain, you recently said this about Governor Romney's Mormon faith: 'Doesn't bother me, but I do know it's an issue with a lot of Southerners.' Could you tell us what it is about Mormonism that Southerners find objectionable?"
Herman Cain gave a totally reasonable answer: That southerners don't really understand how the LDS church relates to the predominant Christian churches. Southerners are not alone in having that question.
There are some interesting theological bits to the answer: Mormons, for instance, believe a small group of Israelites headed west about 2,600 years ago -- all the way to what is now America. There, the church says, they created a mighty civilization and were visited by Jesus after his resurrection. Mormons believe that they belong to the only true Christian church. (Pretty much everybody's faith tradition that identifies as Christian put Mormons on the outside of that tent.)
But those aren't the sorts of details that a presidential candidate should be asked to explain. I just want to know how Romney's beliefs might affect his policies.
Rick Perry has told us that his understanding of Christianity tells him that creationism should be taught in public schools. Michele Bachmann's interpretation of her faith leads her to an uncompromising opposition to abortion. The question during that Iowa debate about wifely "submission" probed how a particular New Testament passage would affect her governance. (She ducked the answer.)
Obama has spoken often about how his understanding of the gospel informs his ideas about governance: "My Bible tells me that when God sent His only Son to Earth, it was to heal the sick and comfort the weary; to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; to befriend the outcast and redeem those who strayed from righteousness. Living His example is the hardest kind of faith -- but it is surely the most rewarding. It is a way of life that can not only light our way as people of faith, but guide us to a new and better politics as Americans. It must be an active faith rooted in that most fundamental of all truths: that I am my brother's keeper, that I am my sister's keeper. That we must live that truth not only with good words, but good deeds."
Four years ago, during his first run for the White House, Romney gave a "Mormons aren't weird" speech that emphasized common values without addressing LDS distinctives. Now that he's officially declared a "top tier" candidate, it's time for him to take another swing at the issue. Here are a few ways that LDS theology could affect his governance.
The first is the bogeyman issue: Would President Romney feel bound to obey President Thomas S. Monson, the man who Mormons revere as the head of their church?
On the one hand, it's not a crazy question. Mormons believe their president is a prophet the equivalent of any of those found in the Bible, a man who could receive direct revelations from God. So what if Monson wakes up one day with the belief that Iran should be smited? Would a faithful Mormon feel obliged to agree?
The other hand is that Mormon presidents have never claimed a revelation about an issue like that. And that there's a confirmation process within the church that stands as a filter against frivolous claims of prophecy. So while this is the religion scare tossed out by some anti-Mormons, there's no evidence it's a serious threat.
Abortion, however, is an issue where a serious question can be asked. Mormon theology calls for exemptions from an absolute ban -- when the pregnancy results from rape or incest; a doctor decides that the mother's health is in serious jeopardy; or a doctor determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.
Romney has said he'd sign a bill outlawing abortion without the exceptions. How does that square with his faith?
The LDS church shares an attitude toward homosexuality with other conservative faith traditions. Mormon theology has a slightly different spin, however: Mormons are taught that each soul has an intrinsic gender and had it in a life before birth. And that gender is never, ever gay. The LDS church was praised by some and condemned by others for its active role against a California referendum on gay marriage.
During his political life, Romney once claimed to be a strong proponent of gay rights. Not so much these days. Did his faith inform that reversal?
Mormon theology and culture could cut two ways on welfare. LDS members are taught to be self-sufficient - told to maintain a year's worth of supplies for their household. But Mormons are also taught to help the needy -- without even asking why the person is in need. Did the latter teaching nudge Romney's health care plan in Massachusetts?
Romney should be asked about these and other topics. What should not happen is a repeat of the 2000 presidential campaign, when George W. Bush was asked to name his favorite political philosopher.
"Christ," Bush said, "because he changed my heart."
Questioner John Bachman tried one follow-up: "I think the viewers would like to know more on how he's changed your heart."
"Well, if they don't know, it's going to be hard to explain," Bush said. "When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart. It changes your life. And that's what happened to me."
What Bush did not explain -- never explained -- was what he understood to be the political philosophy of Jesus Christ and how that philosophy would affect his governance as president.
Romney, and other candidates whose faith is so central to their biography, should not wait to be asked.
Jeffrey Weiss is a RealClearReligion columnist from Dallas, Texas. He can be reached at jweiss@realclearreligion.org.
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