by Rory Pollaro

Created on: June 30, 2007   Last Updated: September 09, 2011

In an America where we are all supposedly allowed freedom of religion, Romney's religion should not be an issue. These same questions were asked when Al Smith was the first Catholic to seek the White House and again when John Kennedy ran and was elected. Harry Truman was asked about a Catholic running for president when Kennedy ran and he summed it up best when he said, "It's not the Pope that worries me, it's the pop," referring to Joseph Kennedy and his appeasement policies prior to World War II.

The only way a candidate's faith should be considered is if we are at war with a particular faith, As an example, I would have trouble voting for a Muslim for president under current conditions. This may be intolerant on my part, but we are at war with radical Muslims. If we were at war with radical Mormons then that would eliminate Romney, but we're not. We have had a variety of faiths in the White House, from Catholic to Quaker and just about all major US religions. Faith was never meant to be a political issue.

I want to know what Romney's views are on the war, the economy and the Constitution, not to whom he prays in his private moments. No one is making an issue about Obama's faith, or Clinton's, or Thompson's or Ron Paul's so why Romney's? He either is or is not qualified to lead the free world. I'm not voting for a pastor, I'm voting for president. Religion is not a qualifier and, as I read the Constitution, we are free to worship in the manner we choose. Don't hold Romney to a different standard than the other candidates, judge him on his qualifications and opinions, not his religious creed.

Learn more about this author, Rory Pollaro.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.