Huntsman says his Mormon church membership is 'tough to define'

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said it's "tough to define" whether he's still a member of the LDS Church and described himself as spiritual rather than religious in a lengthy profile in Time magazine posted Thursday about the would-be GOP presidential candidate.

Titled "Jon Huntsman: The Would Be Republican Presidential Candidate Democrats Most Fear" online and "The Cool Kid" in the magazine, the story is billed as Huntsman's first interview since he returned to the U.S. late last month after serving as the nation's ambassador to China.

The author, Melinda Henneberger, describes Huntsman as unwilling to spill even "puny secrets," such as his differences with other Republicans eying the White House, especially former Utah Olympic leader and fellow Mormon Mitt Romney.

When asked about whether he still belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Huntsman was so cryptic the author wrote that she knew even less after questioning him:

"'I'm a very spiritual person,' as opposed to a religious one, he says, 'and proud of my Mormon roots.' Roots? That makes it sound as if you're not a member anymore. Are you? 'That's tough to define,' he says. 'There are varying degrees. I come from a long line of saloon keepers and proselytizers, and I draw from both sides.'"

Asked about the comments, Tim Miller, the spokesman for what's been called Huntsman's "campaign in waiting," said in a statement that Huntsman "remains a member of the church and proud to be part of the fabric of a large, vibrant faith."

It's not clear how Huntsman's apparent attempt to distance himself from his faith will play with Republican voters around the country, including those evangelical conservatives who don't consider Mormons to be fellow Christians.

"The only thing worse than being a Mormon is being a nothing," said David Woodard, a political science professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, a key early primary state. "That might work in California, but it's not going to work very well in South Carolina. They're suspicious of people who are not believers."

Robert George, a Princeton law professor and director of the New Jersey university's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, said the comments attributed to Huntsman raise serious issues of trust.