Why does it matter what Religion Mitt Romney is?

No other candidate is questioned about their religion but Mitt Romney.

Public Comments

1. Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and Mormons are noted for having very specific beliefs. When this is the case, the candidate is often quizzed about his religion and dire predictions are uttered. This also happened during John Kennedy's campaign.
2. Because he's a Mormon and their beliefs are somewhat questionable, especially polygamy.
3. I have been following the election pretty closley and must say that I have been impressed with how well Mitt has handled himself and questions asked of him. You can see that these types of issues are going away now and we are starting to hear more about his position, his politics, and his ability to serve as President of the United States. The fact that he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is becoming a sign that he is a moral, good standing, confident, and trustworthy individual whose family values are in the right place to be an example to this country. He shouldn't be judged any more on his religion than any other candidate. America wants a President who believes in God, believes in families, and believes in the moral values this country was founded on. He has my vote. P.S. The LDS church does not condone, support, or practice polygamy. Those found to be involved in the practice are ex-communicated. It is not a part of the church or the doctrine it's members live. Mitt Romney is the only man running for president who has and has ever had only one wife. That says something about his character.
4. Oh yes they are. And it IS important if there's the slightest chance they will decide to put their religious views ahead of reality or by pushing their religion when it's illegal - say, by starting a series of 'faith based initiatives' or claiming god told them to go to war. Wouldn't you like to avoid that happening again? What we really need is a good atheist candidate.
5. Well the specific beliefs include such things as that the Jews settled first in America. There is also the part about the need for everyone who ever lived on Earth to be baptized, even the dead ones, and hence the ritualistic baptizing of people who are long dead from other countries and other religions. There was a flap about this because some of the Jews who felt other Jews died for their religion resented having dead Holocaust victims being baptized in secret rituals in Salt Lake City. There was the part about stockpiling grain for members of the religion to survive nuclear war. So it is a little loopy. How loopy. I'm not sure. The Islamic Shi'ite sect believes that the 12th Imam is in "occultation" or "hidden" and will come back some day. That sounds a bit weird put that way but really it's not far off from saying that someone is dead and will rise again. I tried once to explain to my Chinese friend that we have cemeteries because the dead will rise again "whole" on the day of judgment and she laughed out loud and refused to believe me. So there is the "little bit loopy" that we are used to, and the "little bit loopy" that we are not used to. But all told, I think I would rather stick to the loopy I am used to, so this would potentially be a consideration for me, if you get my meaning. It's my vote so I'll vote for the loopy person of my choice. It does become an issue if the science agenda gets dictated by the religion so all in all I'd like to see someone with "soft" or "middle of the road" views. The Catholic thing with Kennedy was not so much that "everyone worried" about him being a puppet of the Pope. The worry was specifically that the southern Baptist constituency, another loopy group which today is running the country, would not vote for him, and that therefore he would not carry the South and therefore not carry the election. And in the event he DID lose the popular vote count. But if you think Southern Baptists have a problem with Catholics, then try them out on Mormons....a fact recently commented on in the Washington Post. I should mention, that "what we think" (we, who post here) is not the same as "whether it matters" in the political sense. It is a political fact that religion matters to millions of voters, and it will have an effect on the next election regardless of what we say here. The mainstream media keeps mentioning Romney's religion because it is 100% established that Southern Baptists are strong participants in primary elections and a core constituency of today's Republican Party. Therefore any reasonable discussion of Romney's political chances must take this into account, just like, in the Kennedy era, the question of whether he would carry "the solid south" was something that no one could omit who knew anything about the politics of the nation. Religion has been increasingly important in American elections since the 1970s. So there you have it. GN
6. Actually mormans do still believe in polygamy, they just don't practice it. Look it up...don't just believe what other people tell you as truth just becuase they are morman doesnt mean they know whats going on. But its the same reason Bush won his last re-election. Stupid ultra-conservative people who think the bible tells us how to run our country. Therefore, since mormans are not christian, at least by most people except mormans, then these people will have doubts about how his religious beliefs will relate to the way they want the counry ran. Unfortunately these questions come up even though the Constitution and Bill of Rights clearly gives the separation of Church and State therefore, these sort of questions shouldn't need to be asked anyway...but people are stupid and they do anyway...losers.
7. People act out that which they believe.
8. Would it matter if, instead of mormon, he listed his religion as "none"? That's why it matters. People care about a candidate's religion for some reason, not that it has anything to do with their ability.
9. The Mormons believe we all lived in Heaven with Heavenly Father, several Heavenly Mothers, and 20 Billion Heavenly Siblings before we were born here on Earth. Then there was a war. The good guys won and were born White. The bad guys lost and became demons. Those who were neutral or did not fight bravely were born with non-white skin. The bravest of the brave were born to Mormon families. We all know that Romney must have been a "Valliant Warrior" in the "War in Heaven" during the "Pre-Existence". How else could he have been born "White and Delightsome" to an LDS family here on Earth? Heck, he was probably one of the Commanding Generals . Now , America needs a President with valuable military experience like that to get us through our war in Iraq. Could you please ask "The One and Only True Prophet", Gordon Hinkley, to please release those valuable records to the public? We need to know what battles he fought in. How many medals he won. How many of the "Less Valliant Soldiers" he recommended being born with black skin when they got their chance to be born on Earth. Was Al Sharpton one of THEM ? How about Jesse Jackson? Mormons, this is your chance to show the world the light of the everlasting gospel. Dont miss out. We have General Romney running for president of the USA and we need you badly right now!