In Speech on Faith, Romney Vows to Serve 'No One Cause'

Romney will not know whether he succeeded in addressing those concerns until the first results come in on Jan. 3 in Iowa, where religious conservatives play a substantial role in the GOP caucuses. A more critical test for Romney will come Jan. 19 in South Carolina's GOP primary, as Southern evangelicals have been seen as most resistant to his Mormon beliefs.

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To those Christians, Romney offered a statement of his beliefs: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind." But he declined to attempt to demystify the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as some had suggested he might have to do.

"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church's distinctive doctrines," he said. "To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president, he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths."

Romney, like Kennedy, said there should be no religious test for the presidency. "A person should not be elected because of his faith, nor should he be rejected because of his faith," he said.

But he also explicitly declined to distance himself from his church. "I believe in my Mormon faith, and I endeavor to live by it," he said. Should he lose because of that, "so be it," he said, adding that he believes the American people prefer politicians who are true to their faith rather than "believers of convenience."

One GOP strategist called that an unfortunate choice of words, given the charges that Romney changed his views on abortion and some other issues, adopting more conservative positions in preparation for his presidential campaign. "It lies at the core of why some Republicans and conservatives have doubts about Romney," said this strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment of the speech.

Romney underscored repeatedly the religious heritage that he said was at the heart of the Founding Fathers' vision of the new country. He called for continued public acknowledgment of "the Creator" on currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance, and said nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in public places.

He said Americans should focus on their shared moral values rather than the denominational differences that sometimes divide the country. "Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself," Romney said, "no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people."