This question is prompted, I assume, by Mitt Romney’s candidacy for President. I do not believe, nor should any Christian believe, that there should be a religious test of any kind for public office.
I think I can honestly say as an evangelical Christian that I would assess Romney’s candidacy independent of his religious beliefs. Christians support public officials who have the ability to carry out the trust which they have been given. I would be more interested in Romney’s values than his Mormonism.
Having said that, however, in the eyes of most serious Christians, Mormonism is a long way from mainstream. It is totally inconsistent with historic Christian orthodox belief in its view of the Bible, for example. Mormons add to the Bible the Book of Mormon. Christians on the other hand, regard the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice.
There are many other serious theological differences between Mormonism and orthodox confessing Christianity. For instance, they believe there are many gods. As Brigham Young's Journal of Discourses says: "How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods” (7:333). They also believe as Joseph Smith writes, "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." In other words, man’s basic intelligence was not created by God and is as old as God’s.
Most Christians recognize that we live in a pluralistic culture which guarantees religious liberty. We would therefore oppose any ethic to stigmatize any religious group and would defend their rights to fully participate in every aspect of public life, including elections. While we have profound differences, there are no grounds for discrimination.
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