Guest Column: Mark Burkhalter:

Religious Test For President a Step Backward

By Mark Burkhalter

(12/10/07) Some read the Bible. Others read the Torah. Some fast. Others say prayers before bedtime. Others do missionary work. Still others just follow the Golden Rule.

Many of us in this country practice faith. We all have the ability to follow our own religion because this is a nation founded on religious liberty.

And that should never change.

Such was the underlying message in Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s speech Thursday in proudly declaring himself a man of faith, a practicing Mormon.

Unfortunately Romney had to make the speech because a desperate few are trying to raise a religious test for Presidential eligibility.

Those who want to make Romney’s denomination an issue are using unfair tactic to discredit a good man, just as some did to try to discredit John F. Kennedy because he was a Roman Catholic. Others used the same methods 100 years ago to try to defeat William Howard Taft, who eventually won the Presidency in 1908, because he was Unitarian.

The day this country starts labeling people by their religious beliefs is the day we start slipping back in time – a time when our ancestors actually escaped foreign lands to come to this nation because of its religious freedom.

Kennedy told the country 46 years ago he was a Democratic candidate seeking the Presidency who just happened to be Roman Catholic. Romney is a Republican who will not use his religious tenets to make public policy.

Listen to Romney’s own words. He says is running for President, not chief priest. He should not be rejected, nor elected, because of his denomination.

The teachings of Romney’s particular religion are not for any of us to judge -- whether he is running for President or is our next door neighbor.

But Romney, in his nationally-televised speech, focused on something more important: faith and spirituality in America, and how it guides many Americans during times of crisis or during our everyday lives.

Take American Presidents, for example. There was Abraham Lincoln, an avid reader of the Bible, who continuously prayed for guidance during our nation’s bloodiest war. Lincoln was not an active member of any denomination. Recent Presidents including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Southern Baptists, consulted with the Rev. Billy Graham for spiritual advice. President Bush led our nation in prayer ceremonies after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

None of our Presidents, whether Quaker, Unitarian, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Roman Catholic or Episcopalian have used the teachings of their particular religion to govern.

However, each President did respect a Higher Authority, as noted in the Declaration of Independence, who grants this nation sacred rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I have gotten to know Romney quite well during the past year. He is an example of how most of us should live our lives, which should count more than what specific church you attend. He is devoted family man, the father of five successful sons, 11 grandchildren and has been married to the same woman, Ann, for 38 years.

As a successful conservative leader, Romney doesn’t carry a lot of personal baggage compared to others seeking the Presidency in 2008. Maybe his religious values helped him guide his life. Maybe they didn’t. But he is a man to admire.

For so many in politics, the ego becomes bigger than life. Romney’s sense of faith is a testament that there is something greater in this universe. That is both refreshing and humbling.

In a world where wars, terrorists and nuclear bombs exist, it’s comforting to know the man I see as our next Commander-in-Chief won’t think he has all the answers. Sometimes he will be calling for a little help from above.