Contrary to conventional wisdom, Mitt Romney didn't take a huge risk in giving a speech about his Mormon faith today. The flip side is that he doesn't have a lot to gain from it. But there should be no mistake about this: He made the most of the opportunity the speech gave him. It was a very impressive speech.
One reason is Romney addressed his faith more directly than either he or his aides had suggested he would. They indicated he'd give a high-toned address on the role of religious faith in America and the obligation for tolerance of all faiths. He did more than that.
There were four important points that may or may not have a positive impact on Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination. First, he did not disavow Mormonism, noting that Americans "do not respect believers of convenience." He also spoke critically of secularism.
Second, he said the authorities of the Mormon church will play no role and have no influence in a Romney presidency - not that anybody thought they would. Nor would he ever put "the doctrines of my church above the plain duties of the office."
The third and fourth points bear on his chief challenger in the Iowa caucuses, the opening contest in the race. That challenger is Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister and ex-governor of Arkansas. Huckabee says in a TV ad that he is "defined" by his evangelical Christian faith.
Romney said something quite different today. He said that his faith doesn't define his candidacy. "A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith."
The final point dealt with Jesus Christ. According to polls, two-thirds of Huckabee's supporters in Iowa are evangelical Christians. These are the folks, among conservatives anyway, most likely to have qualms about Romney's Mormonism.
Romney said he believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the "savior of mankind." But he noted that his church's beliefs about Christ "may not be all the same as those of other faiths" - a point often made by evangelical Christians with considerable emphasis. These differences shouldn't be a matter of criticism, Romney said, but rather a "test of our tolerance."
There was another significant point. Call it the fifth point. Romney said that all faiths in America agree on a "common creed of moral convictions." And it is these, which he said are reflected in his marriage and family, that would "inform" a Romney presidency, not anything distinctly Mormon.
Romney referred to John F. Kennedy's famous speech and Q-and-A session in September 1960 in which he discussed his Catholic faith with Baptist pastors. Kennedy had an easy point to make, that he would not take orders or seek advice from the Pope. And JFK made it well, adding that religious intolerance was "not the kind of America I fought for in the Pacific or my brother died for in Europe."
Romney couldn't match Kennedy. Neither he nor his five sons have served in the military. And his goal was to fit his faith into the mainstream of American religion and diminish it as a lightning rod for the opposition. On that, he did quite well.
