Mitt Romney

Is a religious war breaking out in the Republican Party?

On Friday, Pastor Robert Jeffress of the 10,000-member First Baptist Church of Dallas took the podium at the Values Voter Summit to introduce and endorse Rick Perry.

Gov. Perry, said Pastor Jeffress, is a leader with “a strong commitment to biblical values” who defunded Planned Parenthood, that “slaughterhouse for the unborn.” He contrasted Perry with an unnamed rival.

“Do we want a candidate who is a conservative out of convenience or one who is a conservative out of deep conviction? Do we want a candidate who is a good, moral person or one who is a born-again follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Perry thanked Jeffress for this “very powerful introduction” and congratulated him for having “hit it out of the park.”

By then, however, the pastor, having rounded the bases, was expatiating to an attentive press corps.

“Mormonism is not Christianity,” Pastor Jeffress asserted. Rather, Mormonism is a “cult.” The Mormons “embraced another gospel, the Book of Mormon, and that is why they have never been considered by evangelical Christians to be part of the Christian family.” In essence, Romney may be a good man, but he is not a Christian.

Saturday, Bill Bennett appeared. “Do not give voice to bigotry,” said Bennett. “I would say to Pastor Jeffress: You stepped on and obscured the words of Perry. … You did Perry no good.”

Romney took the podium to speak of America’s “heritage of religious faith and tolerance” and denounced those who would inject “poisonous language” into the political debate.

“Speaking of hitting it out of the park,” Romney began, “how about that Bill Bennett?”

The Perry campaign separated itself from the pastor’s comment about a cult. Yet Jeffress had expressed that view four years ago when Romney was running. In August, he partnered with Perry at “The Response.” His introducing of the governor had been cleared by the Perry campaign.

Hence, this episode was no accident.

As Bennett’s blast was being reported, this writer was in a green room with Pastor Jeffress, who was not backing off an inch.

Evangelicals have the same right to support fellow evangelicals as women did to support Hillary Clinton, said Jeffress. And a candidate’s religion is a valid concern, for what a person believes about God and man and morality and immorality will influence not only how he lives his life but the decisions he will make as president.