Webb: Romney's religious beliefs have been a tantalizing topic for the news media ever since the first hints of his presidential ambitions. The irresistible LDS angle has resulted in enormous publicity in all the major national news media.

This intense early coverage boosted Romney's name recognition considerably, and he catapulted ahead of several candidates with credentials far beyond his experience as a one-term governor.

I assumed that the heavy focus on Romney's religion would eventually subside, once all the news media had done their obligatory "Mormon" story. How many times does the "evangelicals don't like Mormons" story need to be retold? I thought it was good to get all the LDS Church angles aired and out of the way early, so the campaign could focus on national issues as voters began paying more attention.

But it's clear now that the religion angle isn't going away. It will only intensify. Romney faces a lot more scrutiny on church doctrines and obscure practices.

Part of the reason is that Romney has become a bigger target. He has exceeded expectations, with some national pundits even crowning him GOP frontrunner. His success puts a bull's-eye on his back and intensifies news media scrutiny on every major and minor aspect of his life. The "strange Mormon doctrine" angle remains just too juicy to pass up.

And this presents a real challenge for Romney (and also for the LDS Church). Never in its history has the church received such enormous national publicity and attention over such an extended period of time.

The problem for Romney is that politics is about what's secular and obvious and clear-cut, while religion is about faith — "the evidence of things not seen." Religion is about God, miracles and things that defy intellect and reasoning.

Romney is being asked to respond to questions of faith in a political popularity contest where the tool of choice is a 15-second sound bite crafted for the evening news. It doesn't work very well. Deep doctrinal questions on sensitive topics don't lend themselves to campaign "talking points." So it's a fascinating quandary for those in the Romney campaign, and they must deal with it. If Romney's campaign success continues, the doctrinal questions are going to keep coming, with even deeper probing.

Romney needs to craft an answer like, "Every church and religion has rituals, practices and doctrines that may seem somewhat peculiar to those unfamiliar with the symbolism, history and tradition involved. A political campaign is not the proper venue to discuss sacred, symbolic doctrines of any church or religion."

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Republican LaVarr Webb was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. He now is a political consultant and lobbyist. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. A former candidate for Salt Lake mayor, he served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. Pignanelli's spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a Utah state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.