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ACTUALLY, RELIGION DOES MATTER.
Mitt Romney's remarks about Muslims not meriting a spot in his hypothetical cabinet (which he's attempting to cast as a misrepresentation, despite the fact that multiple parties have confirmed the account and even noted that his remarks on the subject have been even more inflammatory at other points), are of course particularly salient in light of the fact that he himself is a member of a relatively small religious group in the United States, one that many consider to be somewhat bizarre and a good reason to write off his presidential run. For the most part though, reporters have shied away from questions about Romney's religion and anything relating to it. But as Christopher Hitchens points out this week, perhaps we should be asking him more about that, especially when it comes to religion, race, intolerance, and what exactly he believes:
It is not just legitimate that he be asked about the beliefs that he has not just held, but has caused to be spread and caused to be inculcated into children. It is essential. Here is the most salient reason: Until 1978, the so-called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was an officially racist organization. Mitt Romney was an adult in 1978. We need to know how he justified this to himself, and we need to hear his self-criticism, if he should chance to have one.
Romney is both a member of a religion that has very recently espoused racism and intolerance … and now he's on the campaign trail, espousing religious intolerance. So why shouldn't we be asking him about his religion? Seems like there are some perfectly reasonable questions there.
--Kate Sheppard
COMMENTS (5)
Someone needs to ask him about his businesses and their hiring policies too--is this how he ran them? What was his hiring and promotion record? What about the Olympics? ...
And how diverse is his campaign staff itself?
Posted by: amberglow | November 28, 2007 11:33 AM
I don't buy it-- though I have to admit, Romney's anti-Muslim comments are making it harder and harder for me to defend my position.
The Catholic Church bars women from the Priesthood and espouses anti-woman contraception and abortion policies. Many Southern Baptist congregations believe that wives should submit to their husbands. Most American Christian denominations are virulently anti-gay.
Unless you want to elect nothing but atheists, agnostics, and secularists, you are going to have to put up with people who belong to obnoxious religious organizations, because most of the mainstream ones are, in fact, obnoxious.
The Mormons are no more obnoxious than any of the others. (The Mormons are not, for instance, the Branch Davidians.) So leave Mitt alone.
Posted by: Dilan Esper | November 28, 2007 1:08 PM
The Hebrew Scripture (or at least the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God) explicitly endorses genocide in the conquest of the "Promised Land" by the Jews. Since Jews, Christians, and Muslims (not to mention Mormons) seem to take these scriptures seriously, what exactly do they have to say about that? Not to mention the scriptures' sexism, racism, ethno-centrism, homophobia, etc., etc.
Posted by: Yowweh | November 28, 2007 3:23 PM
The Hebrew Scripture (or at least the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God) explicitly endorses genocide in the conquest of the "Promised Land" by the Jews.
Uh ... citation, please?
Posted by: Textual healer | November 28, 2007 4:24 PM
Mitt Romney is being accused of Religious Bigotry?
He has been suggesting that everyone else is bigoted because we should not talk about Mormons, but here he expresses his views of Muslims in general.
Listen to this episode of the Hot Conflict Radio show discussing Mitt Romney on Islam.
http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2007/11/mitt-romney-isl.html
Posted by: Saleem Siddiqui | November 29, 2007 6:17 PM