According to Jeffress, Mormonism’s cult status merely disqualifies Romney only when the rest of the field is evangelical Christians. “The reason I would probably select Mitt Romney over Barack Obama is, I do think being an evangelical, or Christian, is important, but it’s not the only criteria by which we select a leader,” he told Fox News. “I personally would rather have a non-Christian like Mitt Romney who embraces [my] principles than Barack Obama.”
So why is he wasting everyone’s time?
Just in case Jeffress still doesn’t get it: It’s not called the Christian Voter Summit but the Values Voter Summit. And yet Jeffress doesn’t claim Romney doesn’t share his values, only that he doesn’t share the same theology.
Is Mormonism a cult? Yes, no, maybe — who cares? From a Jewish perspective, you could say that Mormonism is simply one of the more recent additions to a very long line of cults. From an atheist perspective, it’s cults as far as the eye can see.
But from a moral perspective, contemporary Mormonism is squarely within the Judeo-Christian tradition, promoting decency, self-restraint, family values, etc.
(See also related Associated Press, Christian Post and The Hill stories, Kathleen Parker column, and Paul Mero blog post.)

