Mitt Romney Speech on Religious Tolerance

Just prior to the Mitt Romney speech on religious tolerance I read an insightful column by my favorite columnist George Will in which he managed to mention both Unitarians, the religion of my youth, and Mormons, my present religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). This is a quote by George Will who is paraphrasing Huckabee:

" . . . two subliminal but clear enough premises of his (Huckabee’s) Iowa attack on Mitt Romney are unpleasant: The almost 6 million American Mormons who consider themselves Christians are mistaken about that. And -- 55 million non-Christian Americans should take note -- America must have a Christian president. . . . If Mr. Huckabee succeeds in derailing Mr. Romney's campaign by raising a religious test for presidential eligibility, that will be clarifying: In one particular, America was more enlightened a century ago."

Romney has resisted giving the "I don’t take my orders from Rome" (or Salt Lake) speech given by Kennedy in 1960. The recent campaign ad by Huckabee has prompted Mitt to give the speech on religious tolerance.

The media does not seem to recognize the importance of the Romney speech and the truly presidential way in which it was delivered. One pundit did say that this speech could have been given by any candidate of any party. Some points that stuck with me were Romney’s efforts to pull people together as a "symphony" of religions and his call for religious tolerance. growing secularism, and the greatest threat to freedom and liberty: "theocratic tyranny."

Romney says, "Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree."

Common Ground:

In the modern political climate we are all too polarized on political and religious ideas. Romney is of course trying to win over the skeptical Christian conservative vote by emphasizing similarities. Those of faith, agnostics, and atheists should note the moral grounds that bring us together. American values transcend religion.

Romney said in his speech:

"Perhaps the most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a political office, is this: does he share these American values: the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a steadfast commitment to liberty?"

"They are not unique to any one denomination. They belong to the great moral inheritance we hold in common. They are the firm ground on which Americans of different faiths meet and stand as a nation, united."

Those who do not identify with any particular religion also share the great moral inheritance. Freedom of choice to worship in your own way is your right.

Secularism:

The idea of a growing secular movement hit strong with me. Efforts to remove "Christmas" from the vernacular are tantamount to secular tyranny. Efforts to remove all symbols of Christianity have gone too far and do not serve our society well. Romney says,

"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of secularism. They are wrong."

"The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust."

Theocratic Tyranny:

Perhaps the most important part of his speech is seemingly anathema to tolerance. But, in this age of political correctness we hesitate to criticize some abusive practices in the name of tolerance. We do not have to tolerate having any religion, or secularism forced upon us. Romney says,

"Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by conquest: violent Jihad, murder as martyrdom... killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance."

Let the best candidate win on their merits:

There is a feeling among some of us Mormons that there is more than a touch of prejudice in the criticism we face. It is a criticism of our faith not our actions. Romney may be the best candidate, the most presidential, the most successful of the candidates, yet he is so controversial, not because of what he has done, but for what people think he believes.