As Mitt Romney spends the next leg of his campaign courting evangelical voters in South Carolina, his Mormon faith is expected to re-emerge as a subject of serious scrutiny. But concerns won’t belong exclusively to theologically suspicious Baptists: a newly revealed episode from the candidate’s time as a lay leader in the LDS church could raise eyebrows among women’s advocates.
While serving as bishop of a Mormon congregation near Boston in the early 80’s, Romney once threatened to excommunicate a young single mother if she did not give her soon-to-be-born son up for adoption, according to a passage from a forthcoming book, “The Real Romney.” excerpted this week in Vanity Fair.
via Bishop Romney Pressured Single Mother To Give Up Baby, Book Says.
It is difficult to judge the line of demarcation between the doctrine and beliefs of Mormons and the ways they are carried out. Let this be clear, that I am not attacking the Mormon Church, or the Mormon Mitt Romney – but I am calling into question his position on women’s rights and family values. We know that he has flip-flopped a few times… Or maybe he has just changed his mind….
Regardless, the story of a man who likes to fire, pressure women into giving up their children, and in destroying American jobs is not a good one…
As my vocal hope that Jon Huntsman would achieve the top spot for the GOP ticket, a Mormon president doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is Romney’s record for integrity.
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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