The church's growth in power and prominence reflects its highly organized structure — headed by a prophet who Mormons believe speaks for God — that not only encourages but demands unusually active participation from congregants. To some outsiders, this can make it seem conspiratorial. On the lower- and middle-management levels, the church does not employ a professional clergy. Instead, everyday members are integrated into the institutional hierarchy and balance this responsibility with their professional lives. Mitt Romney himself has served as a stake president, an office loosely akin to that of a Catholic bishop. This fusion of laity and clergy means that rank-and-file Mormons are bound to the pronouncements of church leaders in a way that Catholic parishioners are not — indeed, rank-and-file Mormons often are the ones implementing church policy.

LDS culture also precludes the sort of passive association with the church that many Christian denominations in the United States tacitly allow. Members are either "active" or "inactive," and to remain in the former category, one must regularly attend Sunday services — which run for three hours — and accept a role such as choral director or Sunday school teacher or stake president. To be LDS is to be an exceptionally committed participant in the community. This demanding communitarian streak strikes some as cultish, leading to the fear that Romney would be a tool of the church's First Presidency.

But regardless of how uncomfortable some of these characteristics make some feel, it is unproductive to focus on Romney's Mormonism. A candidate's faith, like that of an L.A. high school student or anyone else, is ultimately a complex and personal phenomenon, even in the context of a highly centralized religious organization. My experience in Mormon congregations across the country has taught me that it is impossible to tell precisely how individual Mormons will apply their religious principles to their professional lives. And beyond encouraging hard work and honesty, the church itself is hardly definitive on the subject. Consider the divergent examples of other well-known Mormons — those of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., say.

No one but Romney can know how his beliefs might affect his judgment. Instead of focusing on his faith, it would be much more worthwhile for voters to judge Mitt Romney on his evolving political agenda — as Republicans did when George Romney ran in 1967.

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Stephen Stromberg is a member of The Washington Post's editorial page staff.