This page provides "just the facts" — direct quotes, linked references and video — on Mitt Romney's religious faith, religious beliefs and views on some major moral issues. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive, but to provide a convenient summary and starting point for further reading. Click on the links in the table below to jump to quotes and resources on that topic.

Mitt Romney on His Personal Religion and Beliefs

"For three years, from 1982 to 1985, Mr. Romney served as the bishop, or lay pastor, at his church in Belmont, Mass. After that, he served nine years as "stake" president, overseeing about a dozen Boston-area parishes. But it was his time as bishop that gave him the most contact with everyday churchgoers. He organized weekly church services and ministered to parishioners, offering spiritual guidance on whatever problems they brought to him – financial, marital, physical, anything. He heard confessions of sin and determined who is allowed to enter a Mormon temple, a privilege reserved for those who meet the church's high standards of personal conduct. He distributed church funds to those in need. Being a bishop is 'a very weighty responsibility, which you take with a great deal of care and sobriety,' Romney said." [8/9/07]

"You pretty much always do what you're asked to do – everything from teaching kids, teaching teenagers, working in Boy Scouts, and … for a few years, I was the adult Sunday School teacher. I like teaching. I taught the New Testament, I taught church history, I taught the Book of Mormon, I taught the Old Testament, and learned a lot about those." [8/9/07]

"You know, one of the great things about this country of ours is that we don't choose our leaders based on what church they go to. We care about the values they have. And if you want to learn something about my values, you can meet my wife and my son and you can see that we have American values like anyone else in this country." [8/9/07]

"And I'm really proud of the fact that wherever I go, people say, 'We love the fact that you're a person of faith, you believe in God, you believe in the Bible, you believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world.' Those are my beliefs, they form who I am. And one of the great elements of America is that we accept people of all faiths as long as they share our values and our love for this great country." [8/9/07]

Video: Faith in American speech by Mitt Romney - Part 2

References and Further Reading

- Linda Feldmann, "Mitt Romney: Proudly, Quietly Mormon." Christian Science Monitor, August 9, 2007. - Collin Hansen, "Latter-Day Politics." Christianity Today, September 26, 2007. - Eli Saslow, "A Mission Accepted." Washington Post, December 10, 2007.