Mitt Romney on Personal Faith

I'm convinced that my background, and my heritage and my faith have made me the person I am to a great degree. The Judeo-Christian ethics that I was brought up with, the sense of obligation to one's fellow man, and an absolute conviction that we are all sons and daughters of the same God and therefore, in a human family, is one of the reasons I’m doing what I'm doing.

The pledge says ‘under God.’ I will not take God out of the name of our platform. I will not take God off our coins and I will not take God out of my heart. We’re a nation that’s bestowed by God.

We were Mormons and growing up in Michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but I really don’t remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to. My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO.

More than these public acts, it was the kind of man [my father] was, and the way he dealt with every person, black or white. He was a man of the fairest instincts, and a man of faith who knew that every person was a child of God. I’m grateful to him for so many things, and above all for the knowledge of God, whose ways are not always our ways, but whose justice is certain and whose mercy endures forever.

I think people who are people of faith believe that there’s a purpose greater than themselves. For me, there’s no question. I believe in a Heavenly Father, I believe in his Son Jesus Christ, I believe in the Holy Ghost. These are features that are part of many people’s faith in this country; other folks have differing views … That shapes my view.

People of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose, when there are so many differences in creed and theology. Surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common worldview. [...] The call to service is one of the fundamental elements of our national character.

ROMNEY: I’m sorry, we’re just not going to have a discussion about religion in my view. But if you have a question, I’ll be happy to answer your question.

BRET HATCH: If you become president, do you believe it’s a sin for a white man to marry and procreate with a black?

ROMNEY: No. Next question. [...] This gentleman wanted to talk about the doctrines of my religion. I’ll talk about the practices of my faith.

I also care about the community at large and the nation of America and the people of our nation. [... My work as a Mormon lay pastor] took about 20, 30, 40 hours a week in some weeks. So besides my regular job, I was pastoring people in my congregation – and people of different backgrounds, different nationalities and different circumstances of life.

This for me, politics is not a career. For me, my career was being in business and starting a business and making it successful. My life’s passion has been my family, my faith, and my country.

HUFFINGTON POST: Lastly, George Bush was asked -- he was very public about his faith -- he was asked from time to time, "What do you do to keep yourself spiritually grounded and centered on a daily routine sort of thing?" And he would talk about reading the Bible and praying on a regular basis. What do you do -- anything like that, similarly on a daily basis -- to keep yourself centered, whether it's reading or prayer or anything like that?

ROMNEY: [...] I read Scripture regularly and seek...

BAIER: Do you think your faith will hurt you in this primary election, and what do you think the biggest misconception about your faith is?

ROMNEY: I think it may have some impact among a narrow group of individuals, but by and large, I don't think it will make the decision. Biggest misconception is the name of our church. It's the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I think people understand that I'm a man of steadiness and constancy. I don't think you are going to find somebody who has more of those attributes than I do. I have been married to the same woman for 25 - excuse me, I will get in trouble, for 42 years. I have been in the same church my entire life. I worked at one company, Bain, for 25 years. [...] Let me tell you this, if I'm president of the United States, I will be true to my family, to my faith, and to our country, and I will never...

What I actually found was most troubling in what the reverend said in the introduction was he said, in choosing our nominee, we should inspect his religion. And someone who is a good moral person is not someone who we should select; instead, we should choose someone who subscribes to our religious belief. That -- that idea that we should choose people based upon their religion for public office is what I find to be most troubling, because the founders of this country went to great length to...

I addressed [my Mormon faith] last time around, had a speech on religion in America. [...] That’s sort of been put to bed for me. [...] I know there are some for whom religion is the most important issue, and I may lose some of those folks, but for the great majority of Americans, they want to see this country going again.

I go on my knees. I’m a person of faith and I look for inspiration... And then, with all that God has endowed you – with your mind, with your values – you make that decision.

I'm not a spokesman for my church.

I separate quite distinctly matters of personal faith from the leadership one has in a political sense. You don't begin to apply the doctrines of a religion to responsibility for guiding a nation or guiding a state.

If you want to learn about my church, talk to my church.

My experience so far both in Massachusetts running as a Mormon guy in a state that’s overwhelmingly of other faiths is it didn't seem to get in my way there. Most people in country recognize that in fact the nation itself was founded on the principle of religious tolerance and freedom. We respect other people beliefs and in a lot of cases people who honor faith and try and be true to it.

There are some […] would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs. Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American...