This week, Bob Jones III, chancellor of the Christian fundamentalist school in South Carolina named for his family, endorsed Romney for president. Jones said he backed Romney because he would best represent conservative Americans.

"As a Christian I am completely opposed to the doctrines of Mormonism" Jones told The Greenville (S.C.) Times. "But I'm not voting for a preacher. I'm voting for a president. It boils down to who can best represent conservative American beliefs, not religious beliefs."

And earlier this week, Houston minister Joel Osteen told interviewer Larry King that Romney's faith would not affect whether he would support Romney's candidacy.

"I don't think that would affect me," Osteen said on Larry King Live. "I've heard him say that he believes Jesus is his savior, just like I do. I've studied it deeply, and maybe people don't agree with me, but I like to look at a person's values and what they stand for."

In May, the Rev. Al Sharpton traveled to Utah to meet with leaders of the LDS Church after making comments in a debate about religion that suggested Mormons don't believe in God and that Romney would be defeated because he was LDS.

Romney's faith has also been featured in the media, including a recent Newsweek cover story titled "A Mormon's Journey." But Romney has yet to decide whether to deliver a speech directly confronting critics of his beliefs, Gitcho said.

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