A Wearer of Many Hats

When beginning my research on Mitt Romney it became apparent that religion was a focal point both within his own political campaign and within the reviews of those critiquing his political campaign. That is to say that Romney does, at times, use religion as a vehicle to explain his moralistic platform, but his religion is even more pronounced when others criticize Romney in his attempt to win the Republic nomination for the 2012 presidential elections. 

Romney's religious affiliation, Mormon, is well publicized throughout the media circuit. Depending on the station or paper one listens to or reads his religious values are either the driving force that ought to gain him support, or the anchor the prevents him from moving ahead in the Republican rat race. These various media outlets diverge based on their intended audiences; liberal news stations use his religion as a way in which to mock his campaign attempts, moderately conservative channels use his religion as a means by which to illustrate his strong moral backing, and extremely conservative stations (primarily those targeted towards or ran by the Religious Right) use Romney's Mormon identity as a means to show how he is separate from the 'Christian Ideals' the Religious Right affirms (made apparent by the cartoon above). However, taking a step back from the media's portrayal of Romney's religion, one would assume Romney himself would present a more coherent and linear explanation of how his religion fits into the larger scope of his campaign. Sadly, this presumption proves false when looking at various speeches or interviews Romney has given in the past. When it comes to his religious ideals Romney is a wearer of many hats - at times he tries to brush aside his religion  and concentrate solely on concrete political issues, sometimes he identifies as a Mormon in order to gain support from voters who also consider themselves members of the Church of LDS, and at other times, Romney uses general Christian beliefs (such as the belief that Christ is savior) to align with more general Christian ideals, but detaching himself from the specific rituals and traditions of Mormonism. This last points follows in accordance with the culture shift thesis presented by Robert Fowler. The culture shift theory of religion and American politics claims that society is moving a way from the more formalized and uniform religious practices to embrace more spiritual religious values that manifest more as a belief in a higher power, and less in performing rituals that affirm one's religion (such as church attendance). Romney plays into this system as he attempts to unite Christians around his campaign by ignoring the specify practices of Mormonism and highlighting the general religious principles that unite Mormons and all other Christian populations.

With all that being said, I am excited to see how religion will shape not only Romney's campaign in the coming months, but more importantly, how effective his strategy will be in garnering support his candidacy. Can Mitt Romney be the next JFK, or will his outwardly unique religion prove to be a downfall during the race? At this point I cannot definitely answer that question, but will diligently follow his campaign to see which path it follows.