The LATimes' Tim Rutten discusses yet another controversy over potential presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon faith. This time, it's a high-profile evangelical leader in Iowa, who suggests that there's no difference between a candidate's religion and his "values." Rutten responds:
It's a short step…from insisting on some display of faith to demanding that it be the "right" one.
Functionally, this sort of thinking threatens to make a dead letter of the Constitution's ban on religious tests for office, and we ought to consider the implications. Article VI of the Constitution couldn't be more clear: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
