General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: We Should Lay off Using Romney's Mormon Beliefs as a Criticism [View all]fishwax
(29,149 posts)I don't see much point in, say, ridiculing things like "magic underwear" or the like. A lot of the beliefs in the LDS church that people point to as silly aren't really much sillier than beliefs that are accepted as fairly mainstream.
The church's position on civil rights, the rights of women, and so on are different issues, though. The attacks on Obama aren't really similar since they were lies intended to paint Obama as "other." As for JFK, the attacks on him were rooted not in the idea that the Catholic church is (for example) opposed to reproductive rights and having matured in that tradition may influence his policies, but rather that as a catholic he would be subservient to the pope and put the interests of the church above the interests of the country.
The question of how one's policies (on reproductive rights, on the death penalty, on--less frequently, unfortunately, social programs, and so on) reconcile with the Catholic tradition that helped to form them is a question that catholic politicians continue to deal with. It isn't an inherently illegitimate line of questioning--if a candidate says "factor x is an important part of who I am," it's only natural that the electorate should want to explore what factor x means, both in general and to that candidate specifically.
As for Romney, I don't believe that he has a "divided loyalty" (as JFK was accused of and as he specifically responded to in his catholic speech), and I don't think his beliefs about his underwear will have any real influence on policy. But I do take him at his word that his religion has been central to his development as a human being, and so I think how that church has historically treated women, gays, and other minorities is not irrelevant.