<i>Are Americans ready for a Mormon president?</i>
Mitt Romney's faith emerged as little more than a subordinate issue on the US campaign trail, but with the Republican nomination securely in his grip, are American voters now ready for a Mormon president?
The candidate made history late Tuesday as the first from his religion to win the nomination of a major political party, and the achievement helps show how far the acceptance of Mormonism has come since its founding in the United States nearly two centuries ago.
A President Romney could be a golden opportunity for a church aiming to broaden its base across the United States and internationally, but it is also fraught with risk.
Romney, who outlasted several rivals in a bruising primary battle, has become the unlikely flagbearer of a Republican movement heavily influenced by evangelical Christians, some of whom have called Mormonism a "cult."
But despite persistent skepticism about the faith -- a Bloomberg News poll from March shows more than one in three Americans hold an unfavorable view of the Mormon church -- associate professor Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston said Wednesday he thinks Americans are ready for a Mormon president.
Mormons self-identify as Christian, though some of their beliefs differ from mainstream Christianity. Mormons believe in the Bible, as well as other books of scripture, such as the Book of Mormon. They have a unique view of cosmology, and believe that all people are spirit-children of God. Central to Mormon faith is the belief that God speaks to his children and answers their prayers.
Romney is not the first Mormon to seek the White House. Founder Joseph Smith ran in 1844, in part to press for greater civil liberties for members of his nascent church.
And Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor, was a candidate this year, but his campaign failed to gain traction and he dropped out in January.
With the general election now in full swing, Obama and Romney are hammering each other over economic policy. But character and personal background form a piece of the puzzle, and Romney's faith will likely come under some scrutiny.
For many Mormons, like Aaron Sherinian, a public relations professional in Washington, Romney's nomination marks "a chance to talk about who we are, what we believe."
But "religion isn't the issue on the ballot," Sherinian told AFP.
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