{"id":70,"date":"2007-12-07T13:50:28","date_gmt":"2007-12-07T13:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/castingstones\/2007\/12\/richard-land-romney-speech-ref.html"},"modified":"2007-12-07T13:50:28","modified_gmt":"2007-12-07T13:50:28","slug":"richard-land-romney-speech-ref","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/castingstones\/2007\/12\/richard-land-romney-speech-ref.html","title":{"rendered":"Richard Land: Romney Speech Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Richard Land<\/strong>
\nMitt Romney gave an eloquent defense of the positive and crucial rule that religion has played in our nation\u2019s history from the first settlements down to the present day. In that regard, Gov. Romney performed an important service to the nation, because this speech was even more important for the country than it was for Gov. Romney and his presidential prospects. Why? Because he reminded Americans, in a high profile venue with the focused attention of the media and millions of citizens listening, of our priceless heritage both of religious freedom and religious diversity.
\nI had been urging Gov. Romney to give such a speech for more than a year, ever since I was among several Evangelical leaders who met with him at his home in Massachusetts in October 2006. During that meeting, I gave him a copy of JFK\u2019s September 1960 speech and urged him to use it as a guide to addressing the issue.
\nSitting on the second row in the auditorium of the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M, as I was, one could clearly see the heart-felt passion with which Gov. Romney delivered this address. Two of his senior staff members assured me that Gov. Romney wrote the speech himself, not speech writers. He was clearly speaking from his heart, and from the second row, you could feel the emotion, not just see it. One staff member told me that he had worked for the Governor for six years and he had \u201cnever heard him be more eloquent.\u201d I responded, \u201cNothing generates more eloquence than heart-felt conviction.\u201d
\nAnd he followed the JFK script on some crucial issues. Referencing Kennedy, he said near the beginning of his remarks: \u201cAlmost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for President, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.\u201d
\nLike JFK, he reminded the American people we have a constitutional prohibition of a religious test for office. Also like Kennedy, he addressed concerns that the officials of the church might dictate, or interfere with, his presidential decisions. In 1960, President Kennedy said that he would be guided by his conscience in his presidential decision-making \u201cwithout regard to outside religious pressures or dictates\u201d and that \u201cno power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise,\u201d clearly referencing the Vatican\u2019s power of excommunication.
\nIn 2007, Romney said, \u201cLet me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.\u201d
\nAlso, like Kennedy, who said that he would not \u201cdisavow my church in order to win this election,\u201d Romney said he would be true to his faith even if it cost him the nomination.
\nRomney then made a statement which has been largely misunderstood by the secular media. He said, \u201cI believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.\u201d Then he said, \u201cmy church\u2019s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history.\u201d In the first statement he was taking care not to offend fellow Mormons by avoiding the issue of their beliefs about the Son of God. The second statement, following immediately upon the first, offered Evangelicals and other conservative Christians an acknowledgement of an important \u201cdegree of separation\u201d of their theological understanding of Jesus Christ and that of his Mormon faith. It was also significant that he used the phrase \u201cother faiths,\u201d not other denominations, acknowledging yet another degree of separation. He then underscored this by immediately saying the term \u201creligion\u201d in referring to \u201cdifferent faiths.\u201d \u201cEach religion has its own unique doctrines and history.\u201d In other words, for those Evangelical and conservative Christians who believe his faith is not Christian, he acknowledged and respected their right to maintain the distinction between their faith understanding and his, and he wasn\u2019t going to pick a fight about it.
\nLike Kennedy, Romney spent no time trying to define, describe, or defend Mormon beliefs, just as Kennedy similarly did not do so for Catholicism. Instead, he said, his faith shapes his character and conscience, informs his public policy positions, guides his performance in public service and inspires his vision for America\u2019s future. He asked Americans to judge him on his character, his record, his public policy views and his vision for the nation\u2019s future\u2014not on his personal religious beliefs\u2014that would be un-American, unconstitutional\u2014and unfair.
\nAll Americans of religious faith have a significant stake in the principles Gov. Romney articulated and defended in his speech. As JFK reminded us 47 years ago, while then it was a Catholic who was the victim of \u201csuspicion,\u201d \u201cin other years, it has been, and may some day be again, a Jew\u2014or a Quaker\u2014or a Unitarian\u2014or a Baptist.\u201d Indeed, as JFK reminded the nation, it was persecution of Baptists in 18th century Virginia which inspired Thomas Jefferson\u2019s \u201cstatute of religious freedom.\u201d In other words, discrimination against a person of any faith opens the door to discrimination against people of all faiths.
\nWhatever the outcome of the 2008 election process, and I do not endorse candidates as a matter of policy, Governor Romney helped himself yesterday. More importantly, he helped the country and the cause of religious freedom even more.
\nFor more Beliefnet reaction to Romney’s “Faith in America” speech, check out J-Walking with David Kuo<\/a>, Rod Dreher’s Crunchy Con<\/a>, and our God-o-Meter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Richard Land Mitt Romney gave an eloquent defense of the positive and crucial rule that religion has played in our nation\u2019s history from the first settlements down to the present day. In that regard, Gov. 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