Romney mentioned the word "Mormon" only once, and Huckabee not at all in his speech at the George Bush Presidential Library.

In speaking frankly about his beliefs, he hoped to reassure other Christians about his intent.

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths," he said, adding that these differences are "not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance."

"Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree."

He assailed "the religion of secularism" he said was creeping into American life, and drew chuckles from his invited audience as he complained that Europe's picturesque cathedrals are largely empty amid societies "too busy or just too 'enlightened' to venture inside and kneel in prayer."

Romney said: "We should acknowledge the Creator as did the founders, in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history and, during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places."

Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, said, "I think he did what he thought he needed to do to address concerns about whether he might use his particular faith as the basis for his decisions as president."

James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, called Romney's speech "a magnificent reminder of the role religious faith must play in government and public policy." He added, "Whether it will answer all the questions and concerns of evangelical Christian voters is yet to be determined, but the governor is to be commended for articulating the importance of our religious heritage as it relates to today."

The Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said, "While I may disagree with some of the points made in the speech, including his lack of acknowledgment of the values and contributions of the nonreligious among us, I appreciate the overall tone."

Among the critics was Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Fordham University.

"Make no mistake about it, this was a political speech," Panagopoulos said. "Romney sounded like he is running for pastor-in-chief rather than commander in chief."

Romney's rivals generally steered clear of commenting on the speech, but agreed that Romney's religion has no bearing on whether he would make a good president.

"It has nothing to do with what faith a person has — it's whether or not that person's life is consistent with how he lives it," Huckabee said on NBC's "Today" show.

Rudy Giuliani, a Catholic, said there should be no religious test for office.