Mitt Romney: Thoughts on his Religion?

[Morkeliph]

So, there has been a fair amount of talk about Mitt Romney and whether or not his religion is an obstacle to his campaign for presidency (he's a mormon, in case you hadn't heard). Now I already know Sikawtic's feelings (he's an anti-mormon, in case you couldn't tell), but what does everyone else think about this?

Personally, I don't really care what the man's religion is, I'm much more interested in the things he says and does, and that goes for every candidate. He could be a scientologist, and as long as he could prove himself a competent and intelligent person otherwise, I would possibly vote for him (though I seriously doubt any scientologist could ever do this...after all, they believe in alien lava-men that possess your body and make you ill...).

Thoughts?

P.S. It would be nice if I could include a poll in this thread to the effect of: Would you not vote for Mitt Romney on the basis of his religion alone? Yes or No.

[LinkTheGameFreak]

History has shown that as a country, we like our presidents white, male and Christian (traditional in the sense that they claim themselves to believe in God, Jesus and so forth)

The only real anomaly that we have had (and it's not even really that much off) is John Kennedy (he was Roman Catholic) but it was his charisma that got people so they kinda went "eh, it's pretty much the same religion, just more kneeling"

Now, as for whether or not he's qualified is a different story - so long as his religious agenda does not get in the way of his leadership, I see no problem with a leader who is not the religion that we've all come to grow and love... Given the state of the religious right in this country, you would think we live in a perpetual church, and maybe a change of pace from an UberChristian would be a breath of fresh air. Perhaps silly things like taking the 10 commandments out of the court houses wouldn't be taken seriously. Maybe laws that actually are effective would be passed rather than legislation that benefits only Christians... Who knows.

[GenocideAlive]

I would vote against Mitt based on his religion. Religious motivations define candidates in many ways, and frankly I don't like religious whackos getting in office. They elect religious cabinets, they elect religious advisers, and they show preferential treatment for religion in state issues (bad).

However, if Mitt isn't a practicing Mormon, I would consider that. There are a lot of people who claim to be whatever reason just to fall under the umbrella of voters who align themselves with said religion. Bill Clinton is a good example.

[GroG]

Just a random piece of information, but this summer at the Iowa State Fair, there was a stand where you could put your "vote" (popcorn kernel) into the jar of the presidential candidate you want to win.

At the end of the fair (8-9 days long), Mitt had the most kernels - out of all the candidates, democrat, republican, green, etc. Now just to see if Iowa will still be one of the first voting places in the U.S., what with every other state saying they are going to move their date to January and crap.

[singo]

Admittedley this is not anything to do with religion, but it is to do with Mitt Romeny, so I suppose it does not need its own thread.

http://debatableland.typepad.com/the_debatable_land/2007/07/romneys-dog-enj.html

He strapped his dog to the roof rack of his car.....In a box.....for a twelve hour journey.

When the dog shat itself, he hosed it down, then put it back in the box.

Hurrah.

[Sikawtic]

I dated a Mormon once. It was very strange, and one time me and a friend saw her take out a picture of Joseph Smith from her locker and we couldn't help but laugh our asses off... I got in trouble for it but at the time it was funny.

Personally, I wouldn't vote for him because of him being Mormon. No, not because it's a crack-pot religion (which it is), but because it is a very hard religion to be in for a long time and still call it yours. There are so many fallacies and contradictions... not just again the Bible (which people claim it is an "extension" of) but against many scientific facts and theories.

Yes, GA is going to jump in and label off parts of the Christian Bible that go against science such as burning bushes, etc but I'm talking about things that are stated as less supernatural facts (which, by the definition of faith must be believed with out proof)... such as people having steel weapons in Central America thousands of years ago. While it is possible it's very unlikely and no evidence has been found to suggest this may be the case. The first steel was not "created" until later and wasn't used widely until the Bessemer Process was in use, historically. Another fact stating that the natives to central america were descendants of Israel. Blood tests have shown that Central American natives are more closely related to the people found more on the Eastern side of Asia, closer into China and Mongolia.

And Mr. Smith married his 16 year old cousin.