Romney preaches to several choirs

Mitt Romney's Texas speech defending his right as a Mormon to serve as president has produced comparisons to John Kennedy's 1960 speech to a hostile crowd of Protestant leaders in Houston. Romney's hurdle is not just that he's of a different religion but that he's the first Mormon who's a serious presidential candidate. Kennedy during his speech made a strong case for the separation of church and state. But Romney offered something for every side in the church- state separation debate. He stated "Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions." He also said that when he was governor " I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution - and,of course, I would not do so as president. But then he offered this opinion " Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.
Kennedy's speech put the Catholic issue mostly to rest in 1960. But that may not be the case with Romney's Mormonism. Rightly or wrongly! Protestants thought they knew pretty much all they needed to know about Catholicism. It was familiar to them while that is not true of Mormonism. Most Americans are unfamiliar with its rituals or beliefs. Some see it as a cult, others as an exotic offshoot of Christianity. Some people feel it is legitimate to challenge Romney on his political beliefs because of his conversion from liberal positions to conservative positions. But the big question is should Romney be challenged on his religious beliefs? We are making progress in having a woman and African American as front runners on the Democratic side. Now let's see if the Republican party will have a Mormon as it's front runner.