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<br><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/on-campaign-trail-romney-ratchets-ups-god-rhetoric/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: On campaign trail, Romney ratchets ups God rhetoric"></a>
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<h1 class="cnnBlogContentTitle"><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/on-campaign-trail-romney-ratchets-ups-god-rhetoric/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link:On campaign trail, Romney ratchets ups God rhetoric">On campaign trail, Romney ratchets ups God rhetoric</a></h1>
<p class="cnn_first">By <strong>Dan Merica</strong>, CNN</p>
<p><strong>Washington (CNN) –</strong> 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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p><span id="more-33975"></span>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.”</p>
<p><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/01/can-mitt-romneys-evangelical-ambassador-seal-the-deal-before-election-day/">CNN Belief: Can Mitt Romney’s evangelical ambassador seal the deal before Election Day?</a></p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Some religious leaders and scholars see Romney's new God talk in a somewhat different light.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>In his critique of Romney’s religious rhetoric, Martin cited Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”</p>
<p>DeMoss, a Christian PR executive, said questions about the president’s faith should not be read into the speech.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Last week, at an event in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Romney pledged to keep God on U.S. currency.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/16/religious-exemptions-grow-in-contraception-mandate/">CNN Belief: Religious exemptions grow in contraception mandate</a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“When (Republicans) get nervous about a loss, they go into
base-whip-up stage,” Berlinerblau said. “They try to energize the base
even more.”</p>
<p>He argues that such rhetoric will not appeal to “moderate religious
voters” and that it is pushing Romney off his economic message.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>DeMoss says it's possible to emphasize both religious and economic issues.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p><strong>– CNN’s Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.</strong></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br><a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com" target="_blank">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a><br>
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