Take the Republican governor of the most liberal state in the country, a governor who fought gay marriage in the state, who is pro life(though he is a convert on the issue, but then so was Reagan), was a successful businessman, and the only major GOP candidate to have been married only once. You would think that conservatives would be all over the guy.

But that's not the case. Support for Romney, outside of New Hampshire and Iowa, is tepid. The more liberal Giuliani is more popular, and there are some legitimate reasons for that. Giuliani can point to his years of being Mayor of New York City, and the successes under his terms in lowering crime, reducing welfare, cleaning up what was once thought to be an ungovernable city, and his response to 9-11. Romney, though a successful Governor, can't point to anything so dramatic. Still, one gets the feeling that if Romney were a Lutheran(or belonged to some other church) he wouldn't be viewed so negatively.

Governor Romney, as everyone who follows the race knows by now, is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, AKA Mormon(though the term Mormon was invented by the churches enemies in the 19th century, and is not how Church members think of themselves). A religion little understood throughout America, and even less admired. There are some, on the evangelical right(and the secular left as well) who believe that membership in the church should be a disqualifying factor in seeking office.

Funny, I don't see it anywhere in the constitution where it says that only members of mainstream religions can hold political office. In fact the constitution says the opposite. To say, in this day and age, that one is not qualified for office because of where he spends his Sunday mornings in nothing short of religious bigotry.

The common argument is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not a Christian church, but is something cultish, or Satanic. This is pure nonsense. Most people who hate Latter Day Saints, don't know the first thing about their religion other than, over 100 years ago some members practiced polygamy. Now, I'm not here to defend that practice, which is pretty indefensible. But that doesn't make them a cult. After all their first article of faith is "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Sounds pretty Christian to me.

Now I'm not writing this article to endorse Romney, or to be an Apologist for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What I am saying is that Governor Romney is under no obligation to address his faith, nor does he need to renounce its doctrines. After all, many evangelicals don't like the Catholic Church either but no one expected Chief Justice Roberts or Justice Alito to renounce their beliefs in order to win confirmation.

Latter Day Saints are good citizens, hold strong Judeo-Christian values(even if some people don't believe that they do) and are certainly not a sinister Satanic organization. The ones clamoring the loudest for Romney to talk about his religion are the ones who have an axe to grind against it. Maybe instead of demanding he address his faith they should look to their own, and not throw stones while they live in glass houses. In a day and age where megachurch leaders are often caught in sex or financial scandals, or the Catholic Church covers up for pedophile priests, it seems foolish to rail against a Church whose last real scandal was back in 1857.

A persons faith, or lack thereof, is their own business, and shouldn't be a consideration for a candidate. However, people want to know what the candidates believe in, and where they stand on the moral issues. All the GOP candidates, including Governor Romney, have stated where they stand. He doesn't need to go any further.