Wonkette

Last week, political circles were abuzz with the news that someone hired push-pollers to draw attention to Romney’s religion in Iowa and New Hampshire. Romney says he considers himself a Christian (even though many evangelicals believe the opposite). But he’s been a little fuzzy on the details of Mormon doctrine and practice, which tends to make other Christians a little squeamish. Last weekend, Romney even acknowledged that his advisers have counseled against talking too much about his religion in any detail.

But, why is that he doesn’t want to talk about it? Most of what Americans know about Mormonism comes from Big Love, hotel room Bibles and other bits of urban legend and historical facts that Romney himself either needs to clear up or be saddled with for the rest of the campaign. These things include, for starters: the polygamy question;, the Church-sponsored racism that led them to not admit black men as priests until 1978, and the role of women in the faith. These are not questions he should ignore until they get asked (which they will) if he wants to win.

In addition, as many people have heard, Mormons wear special underwear, called garments. Mitt’s never said whether he wears them or not, but if he’s gone on a mission and undergone the functional equivalent of confirmation, he would likely be eligible/expected to do so. Mormons are also expected to tithe (give a portion of their income to the church), which is another issue Romney would have to address — would 10 percent of his salary as President be turned over to the Mormon Church? Plus, Mormons are expected not to drink, which, as a functional alcoholic, I object to. These are lifestyle questions at which many voters might look askance, and he needs to address them before they continue to be addressed by others.

Kennedy faced this sort of innuendo and doctrinal questions about being a Catholic in the 60s and survived. Maybe Mormon doctrine and practice really does seem weirder to non-Mormon Christians than Catholicism does to non-Catholic Christians, but I don’t really think so. What seems weird, at least to me, is the fact that he’s so reticent to talk about or even really defend his religion in any significant public way. There is a lot of false information around and people are already talking about it, so it’s strange that a member of a religion that openly encourages proselytization would have so much trouble (or so little interest in) talking about his religion.

Anti-Romney calls still swathed in mystery [Politico]
Mitt Romney’s Evangelical Problem [Washington Monthly]