It was just a matter of time before the religious supremacism of the Christian Right began to fracture the coalition which made it possible to ever describe the movement as “the religious right.”
The Boston Globe’s Nina Easton has a must-read article about how key elements of the Christian Right could never bring themselves to support the candidacy of Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts for no other reason than that he is a Mormon. Here is an excerpt:
“The Southern Baptist Convention website categorizes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a ‘cult’ that is ‘radically’ different from historic, biblical Christianity.”
“A faith guide issued by the influential Christian right group Focus on the Family declares that ‘God cannot be identified…. with the Mormon religion’s notion of god.’ And each year, evangelical organizers behind the National Day of Prayer bar Mormons from speaking at their proceedings.”
“As Governor Mitt Romney mulls a race for president in 2008, his strategists expect their ‘family values’ candidate — who opposes gay marriage, abortion, and some forms of embryonic stem cell research — to find a natural base of support among religious conservatives. ‘As Mitt’s traveled the country and tested the waters, he’s gotten very strong responses, including from religious conservatives,’ said Michael Murphy, a political consultant who advises Romney.”
“But an examination of the views of powerful Christian right groups suggests that, even as some of these voters might appreciate Romney’s lifelong commitment to his church, the governor’s Mormon faith could become an obstacle for others among this same group, who make up a large and vocal segment of Republican primary voters….”
“Dobson’s Focus on the Family website features a guide for teaching Christianity to children that lumps Mormons in with pagan worship. ‘God cannot be identified with an object, such as a metal or wooden idol, or with some aspect of nature, such as a star or tree, or with a person, such as Japan’s Emperor Hirohito in World War II or the Mormon religion’s notion of god,’ the guide declares.”
