[Vision2020] Keeping God Busy

[Art Deco]

03:14 PM ET

<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/on-campaign-trail-romney-ratchets-ups-god-rhetoric/>
  On campaign trail, Romney ratchets ups God
rhetoric<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/on-campaign-trail-romney-ratchets-ups-god-rhetoric/>

By *Dan Merica*, CNN

*Washington (CNN) –* At campaign events these days, Mitt Romney often says
that if he is elected president, he will emphasize the role of God in
American society and will not “take God out of the public square.”

That kind of rhetoric is a departure from earlier less God-focused versions
of the Republican candidate’s stump speech and his early apprehension with
discussing his Mormon faith.

According to Mark DeMoss, Romney’s adviser to the evangelical community,
such lines are designed to create a contrast with a Democratic Party that
had to fight to get God into its platform at its recent convention.

“I will not take God out of my heart, I will not take God out of the public
square, and I will not take it out of the platform of my party,” Romney has
been saying in his stump speech since the Democratic platform fight this
month.

The former Massachusetts governor used the line at a campaign stop in
Mansfield, Ohio, on Monday. In nearly the same breath, he said that “we are
nation under God.”

CNN Belief: Can Mitt Romney’s evangelical ambassador seal the deal before
Election Day?<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/01/can-mitt-romneys-evangelical-ambassador-seal-the-deal-before-election-day/>

DeMoss says the new rhetoric is not a departure from anything but is “as
much as a response to something that really shocked a lot of people.”

“I think the governor is probably doing two things,” said DeMoss, a senior
adviser to the Romney campaign: “reinforcing his own commitment to God and,
secondly, showing some contrast.”

Some religious leaders and scholars see Romney's new God talk in a somewhat
different light.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and media commentator, said Romney’s
line that “I will not take God out of my heart” is a coded way to question
to veracity of the President Barack Obama’s Christian faith.

“Critiquing the president for taking God out of the public square when he
regularly refers to God and implicitly critiquing him for taking God out of
his heart, any way you look at it, is offensive,” Martin said.

In his critique of Romney’s religious rhetoric, Martin cited Matthew 7:1,
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”

DeMoss, a Christian PR executive, said questions about the president’s
faith should not be read into the speech.

“I take that comment as a reinforced pledge and commitment that God is not
going to be stripped from anything if he has anything to say about it,
whether it is his heart or the public square or the party platform,” DeMoss
said. “I think it would be unreasonable or unfair to suggest that that was
a comment on the president.”

Last week, at an event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Romney pledged to keep
God on U.S. currency.

“Our pledge says ‘under God,’”  Romney told thousands of energetic
supporters at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach. “I will not
take God out of the name of our platform. I will not take God off our
coins. And I will not take God out of my heart.”

On Tuesday, the anniversary of terrorist attacks of September 11, Romney
tweeted, "On this most somber day, America is united under God in its quest
and freedom at home and across the world."

The increased God rhetoric adds to a campaign that has frequently discussed
religious issues, even as Romney says the economy is the most important
issue.

>From debates over religious liberty – sparked by the Obama administration's
"contraception mandate" for health care plans – to abortion rights, the
Romney campaign has taken stands on a number of religious issues,
attempting to draw a distinction with Obama.

CNN Belief: Religious exemptions grow in contraception
mandate<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/16/religious-exemptions-grow-in-contraception-mandate/>

Jacques Berlinerblau, a Georgetown University professor with an expertise
in religion and politics, says he sees the change as a response to a
president who is doing better in recent polls.

“When (Republicans) get nervous about a loss, they go into base-whip-up
stage,” Berlinerblau said. “They try to energize the base even more.”

He argues that such rhetoric will not appeal to “moderate religious voters”
and that it is pushing Romney off his economic message.

“They are totally getting off-script,” Berlinerblau said. “We hear that
this election is all about the economy, but now we are talking about
religion and faith issues.”

DeMoss says it's possible to emphasize both religious and economic issues.

“I am comfortable with the balance that he has struck about talking about
his faith and other people's faith, and I was comfortable with the balance
at the Republican convention,” DeMoss said. “It is part of the equation,
but it is certainly not the dominant part.”

*– CNN’s Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.*


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