Mothers Who Know - Mitt Romneys Speech on Faith

Mothers Who Know

Mitt Romneys Speech on Faith

02:10, Thursday, December 6, 2007 .. 0 comments .. Link

Faith In America"
Remarks As Prepared For Delivery
The George Bush Presidential Library
College Station, Texas
December 6, 2007

"Thank you, Mr. President, for your kind introduction.

"It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because
of you and the First Lady and because of the film exhibited across
the way in the Presidential library. For those who have not seen it,
it shows the President as a young pilot, shot down during the Second
World War, being rescued from his life-raft by the crew of an
American submarine. It is a moving reminder that when America has
faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing to
risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation. We
are in your debt. Thank you, Mr. President.

"Mr. President, your generation rose to the occasion, first to defeat
Fascism and then to vanquish the Soviet Union. You left us, your
children, a free and strong America. It is why we call yours the
greatest generation. It is now my generation's turn. How we respond
to today's challenges will define our generation. And it will
determine what kind of America we will leave our children, and theirs.

"America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam
seeks to destroy us. An emerging China endeavors to surpass our
economic leadership. And we are troubled at home by government
overspending, overuse of foreign oil, and the breakdown of the family.

"Over the last year, we have embarked on a national debate on how
best to preserve American leadership. Today, I wish to address a
topic which I believe is fundamental to America's greatness: our
religious liberty. I will also offer perspectives on how my own faith
would inform my Presidency, if I were elected.

"There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be
seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face
us. If so, they are at odds with the nation's founders, for they,
when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the
Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection
between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious
freedom. In John Adams' words: 'We have no government armed with
power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality
and religion... Our constitution was made for a moral and religious
people.'

"Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom
opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most
profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure
together, or perish alone.

"Given our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty, some
wonder whether there are any questions regarding an aspiring
candidate's religion that are appropriate. I believe there are. And I
will answer them today.

"Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained
that he was an American running for President, not a Catholic running
for President. Like him, I am an American running for President. I do
not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be
elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his
faith.

"Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other
church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential
decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church
affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

"As Governor, I tried to do the right as best I knew it, serving the
law and answering to the Constitution. I did not confuse the
particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office
and of the Constitution – and of course, I would not do so as
President. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain
duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.

"As a young man, Lincoln described what he called America's
'political religion' – the commitment to defend the rule of law and
the Constitution. When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath
of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am
fortunate to become your President, I will serve no one religion, no
one group, no one cause, and no one interest. A President must serve
only the common cause of the people of the United States.

"There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They 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 people. Americans do not respect believers
of convenience. Americans tire of those who would jettison their
beliefs, even to gain the world.

"There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What
do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church's beliefs about
Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each
religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not
bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious
tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved
only for faiths with which we agree.

"There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and
explain his church's distinctive doctrines. 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.

"I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents
closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are
features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the
Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the
Evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the
confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of
the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent
prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our
towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship
with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the
source of life's blessings.

"It is important to recognize that while differences in theology
exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of
moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned,
it's usually a sound rule to focus on the latter – on the great moral
principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the
cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no
movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to
the convictions of religious people.

"We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good
reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state
interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years,
the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by
some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the
public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a
private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are
intent on establishing a new religion in America – the religion of
secularism. They are wrong.

"The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but
they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public
square. We are a nation 'Under God' and in God, we do indeed trust.

"We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders – in ceremony
and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the
teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity
scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places. Our
greatness would not long endure without judges who respect the
foundation of faith upon which our constitution rests. I will take
care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I
will not separate us from 'the God who gave us liberty.'

"Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage. Perhaps the
most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a
political office, is this: does he share these American values: the
equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another, and a
steadfast commitment to liberty?

"They are not unique to any one denomination. They belong to the
great moral inheritance we hold in common. They are the firm ground
on which Americans of different faiths meet and stand as a nation,
united.

"We believe that every single human being is a child of God – we are
all part of the human family. The conviction of the inherent and
inalienable worth of every life is still the most revolutionary
political proposition ever advanced. John Adams put it that we are
'thrown into the world all equal and alike.'

"The consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one
another, to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of
God. It is an obligation which is fulfilled by Americans every day,
here and across the globe, without regard to creed or race or
nationality.

"Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an
indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have
sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of
America's sons and daughters were laid down during the last century
to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout
the world. America took nothing from that Century's terrible wars –
no land from Germany or Japan or Korea; no treasure; no oath of
fealty. America's resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested
time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be.
America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.

"These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and
lived in my religion as it is in yours. I was taught in my home to
honor God and love my neighbor. I saw my father march with Martin
Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others,
in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways
in leading national volunteer movements. I am moved by the Lord's
words: 'For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and
ye clothed me...'

"My faith is grounded on these truths. You can witness them in Ann
and my marriage and in our family. We are a long way from perfect and
we have surely stumbled along the way, but our aspirations, our
values, are the self-same as those from the other faiths that stand
upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform
my presidency.

"Today's generations of Americans have always known religious
liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation's
forbearers took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek
freedom of religion. But upon finding it for themselves, they at
first denied it to others. Because of their diverse beliefs, Ann
Hutchinson was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, a banished Roger
Williams founded Rhode Island, and two centuries later, Brigham Young
set out for the West. Americans were unable to accommodate their
commitment to their own faith with an appreciation for the
convictions of others to different faiths. In this, they were very
much like those of the European nations they had left.

"It was in Philadelphia that our founding fathers defined a
revolutionary vision of liberty, grounded on self evident truths
about the equality of all, and the inalienable rights with which each
is endowed by his Creator.

"We cherish these sacred rights, and secure them in our
Constitutional order. Foremost do we protect religious liberty, not
as a matter of policy but as a matter of right. There will be no
established church, and we are guaranteed the free exercise of our
religion.

"I'm not sure that we fully appreciate the profound implications of
our tradition of religious liberty. I have visited many of the
magnificent cathedrals in Europe. They are so inspired ... so
grand ... so empty. Raised up over generations, long ago, so many of
the cathedrals now stand as the postcard backdrop to societies just
too busy or too 'enlightened' to venture inside and kneel in prayer.
The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to
Europe's churches. And though you will find many people of strong
faith there, the churches themselves seem to be withering away.

"Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by
conquest: violent Jihad, murder as martyrdom... killing Christians,
Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do
their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of
minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than
theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and
groups could inflict if given the chance.

"The diversity of our cultural expression, and the vibrancy of our
religious dialogue, has kept America in the forefront of civilized
nations even as others regard religious freedom as something to be
destroyed.

"In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land
where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of
liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can
be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who
has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And
so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: we do not insist
on a single strain of religion – rather, we welcome our nation's
symphony of faith.

"Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in
Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by
British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears
of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that
they pray. But there were objections. 'They were too divided in
religious sentiments', what with Episcopalians and Quakers,
Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.

"Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of
piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.

"And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together,
by the grace of God ... they founded this great nation.

"In that spirit, let us give thanks to the divine 'author of
liberty.' And together, let us pray that this land may always be
blessed, 'with freedom's holy light.'

"God bless the United States of America."

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