Mormonism threatens Romney's presidential nomination, panel says

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may face an uphill battle as he seeks his party's nomination since he must win over a heavily evangelical conservative base that distrusts his Mormon religion, speakers at a panel held Saturday said.

Titled "Mitt, Mormonism, and the Media," the panel examined how the media portrays Mormonism to the American public, and how that portrayal may affect the former Massachusetts governor's quest for his party's nomination.

The major controversy discussed by the four presenters — Time magazine editor Amy Sullivan, documentary maker Helen Whitney, political theorist Russell Fox and Trinity College religion scholar Mark Silk — was the influence of anti-Mormon conservative Christians who will be reluctant to select him as their party's nominee. Sullivan called this hurdle "Mitt Romney's evangelical problem."

"I clearly remember when I first learned about Mormons in Sunday school," said Sullivan, who was raised in a Baptist community. "It was on the same day I learned about devil-worshippers and cults."

Whitney, who presented part of her documentary "The Mormons," discussed how Mormons are perceived by others and how they see themselves. Her film received high ratings when shown on PBS, suggesting a recent spike in public interest in the Mormon religion.

"I am still surprised by the enduring suspicion many Americans have about Mormonism," Whitney said. "No other American religion has aroused so much fear and hate."

Romney has not directly addressed questions about his faith, instead echoing John F. Kennedy's response to skepticism about his Roman Catholic religion. Kennedy famously emphasized that he wanted "to be a president who happens to be Catholic, not a Catholic president."

But Fox pointed out that the media recognizes this evasion and runs with it. "The media industry is fairly secular," Fox said. "It is suspicious of non-mainstream beliefs and is curious to investigate Romney."

Silk, drawing on his 10 years of experience as a journalist, emphasized the difficulties of writing about the Mormons. "It's true that it's very hard to cover religion to the satisfaction of everyone," he said. "There is some kind of a Mormon problem attached to the Romney candidacy. If you're a journalist, you have to try to deal with that problem."

Silk noted, however, that "we're electing a president, not a pastor" and said he wonders why few members of the media have published editorials condemning religious bigotry.

Sullivan noted that Romney's family values and conservative viewpoint may still bring him success in the primaries despite some Republicans' suspicion of Mormons. "The one thing that has helped Mitt Romney is his luck in his competitors in the Republican race," she said.

For example, the Republican candidate widely seen as Romney's strongest competitor — former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani — holds socially liberal views on issues including abortion and gay rights. "If Republicans had another alternative, that would be an easy choice," Sullivan said.

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Nevertheless, she said, there have been rumors of "whisper campaigns" in certain states, in which pamphlets and emails have discouraged religious voters in the South from supporting Romney.

Silk said Romney's religion has been a liability for him. "It's become clear in the past few days that Romney will not come close to sweeping the evangelical leaders," he said. "He might actually have to give the religion speech that he has done his best to avoid."

Mormonism, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was founded by Joseph Smith in the 19th century. Aspects of the religion — including the initial embrace of polygamy, a practice prohibited by church doctrine since 1904 — have long sparked controversy.

The panel, part of a two-day conference on "Mormonism and American Politics," was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion.