Romney to share role of faith in his life

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — During his much-anticipated speech here today, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will share stories about the impact that being Mormon has had on his life in addressing the role of religion in the race, his press secretary confirmed Wednesday.

"The governor will talk in very personal terms about how his faith played a role in shaping his values and how his faith shaped his family," Kevin Madden told the Deseret Morning News at the site of today's 8:30 a.m. MST speech, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the Texas A&M campus.

But Madden also said that, as expected, Romney would not detail what he believes as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nor, he said, will Romney call for a separation of church and state, as John F. Kennedy did 47 years ago in nearby Houston in confronting critics of his Catholicism.

Instead, Romney will focus on "the role of faith for a public servant," Madden said, to an audience invited by the Romney campaign to attend. They include representatives of several faiths, such as Amy Goldstein, a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition's leadership, and the Rev. Robert Schenck, president and co-founder of Faith and Action.

Some 100 reporters representing news outlets as far away as Poland will join several hundred hand-picked attendees. Romney will be introduced by former President George H.W. Bush and speak from a podium flanked by flags and the library's dark blue library seal, which looks very much like the presidential seal.

In 1960, Kennedy said nothing to his audience of largely confrontational Baptist ministers about his own Catholic beliefs, calling himself "not the Catholic candidate for president, but the candidate who happens also to be a Catholic."

Kennedy also said his church did not speak for him and pledged to follow his conscience while governing the country "without regard to outside religious pressure or dictate."

Probably the key point that Kennedy made was making it clear he would not take orders from the Pope, a real fear of some voters then, especially those in the Bible Belt. Romney has faced similar questions from evangelicals who don't consider Mormons fellow Christians.

Nathan Oman, a professor at William and Mary Law School who researches Mormon legal history, said Romney should make a similar statement. It's not clear, though, that he will.

"The best thing Romney could say is, 'My church will not direct me on political issues,"' said Oman, who is himself LDS. "If Romney is president and (LDS Church President) Gordon B. Hinckley calls him, Romney would answer the phone. But Gordon B. Hinckley is not going to be giving him marching orders."