Here is another article from The Times that deals with Romney’s religion and how it might influence his decision-making if he elected president.

Take this passage:

While Mr. Romney has expressed some views at odds with his church’s teachings — in Massachusetts, he supported measures related to alcohol and gambling, both frowned upon by the church — other positions flow directly from his faith, including his objections to abortion and same-sex marriage

and his notion of self-sufficiency tempered with generosity. The church, which often requests recipients of charity to perform some sort of labor in return, taught Mr. Romney to believe that “there’s a dignity in work and a dignity in helping those who are in need of help,” his eldest son, Tagg, said in an interview.

Or take Mr. Romney’s frequent tributes to American exceptionalism. “I refuse to believe that America is just another place on the map with a flag,” he said in announcing his bid for the presidency last June. Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romney’s is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely inspired.

While he has taken political stances in the past that seem at odds with his church, showing that he might be less cookie cutter than we think (or not), the important distinction is this: pretty much all of the GOP candidates in this year’s primary believe that America has a special calling in the world or some kind of divine “protection” that can be “lifted” if the nation becomes more corrupt or morally bankrupt (hence, efforts to crush gay rights, etc.)

Romney, on the other hand, believes America is literally the land of God and that the Constitution is divinely inspired a la the Bible or the Book of Mormon. In fact, if he follows the basic tenets of Mormonism, he also believed that true divine inspiration took place in upstate New York by God through Joseph Smith, that Christ will return — where else? — in the state of Missouri. Specifically, Independence, Mo. He also apparently believes that the United States was the site of the Garden of Eden, located, you guessed it, in Missouri.

And this person, a guy who believes America is the nation that God chose above all others to set up the new city at the end of the world, will be leader of the free world if he wins the election. That’s not quite to the point of establishing a sort of Christian caliphate, but it comes dangerously close.