Romney Says Speech Will Not Defend His Mormon Faith

December 3, 2007 9:40 p.m. EST

Manchester, NH (AHN) - Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on Monday that he did not intend to defend his Mormon faith, nor try to repeat former president John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech, when he makes his scheduled speech on Thursday.

"I don't know that even at this stage that my faith is a significant factor in my race," Romney said during a campaign stop at the Chateau Restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the first presidential primaries will be held on January 8.

Spokesman Kevin Madden said in a statement on Sunday that Romney would speak about "Faith in America" on Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

"This speech is an opportunity for Governor Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation, and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected," Madden said. "Governor Romney understands that faith is an important issue to many Americans, and he personally feels this moment is the right moment for him to share his views with the nation."

Romney has had to face growing doubts about the possibility of his becoming the nation's first Mormon president, as well as the increasing poll numbers of Republican rival former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has gained tremendous ground since early November from the support of Christian conservatives.

Responding to a question while at a speaking engagement in New Hampshire on Monday, Romney took the opportunity to criticize the Huckbee's latest campaign ad slogan as a "Christian Leader."

"I think that a candidate or a president that tried to make his religion a defining a feature of his campaign or of his term in office, would tend to divide the nation rather than bring us together," Romney said.

Romney has been the long-time front-runner among Iowa Republican voters, but the latest Des Moines Register survey has Huckbee, a Baptist minister, overtaking Romney five percentage points to 29 percent.