Robert Jeffress Calls Romney 'Lesser of Two Evils,' Maintains 'Mormonism Is Not Christianity'
Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas spoke at the 2012 Pastor Appreciation Luncheon Monday, and suggested that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is "the lesser of two evils" when it comes to Christians choosing who to vote for in November.
"The fear among evangelicals is that this would legitimize a religion that we believe doesn't lead people to God," said Jeffress, who leads an 11,000-strong congregation.
"And so those of us who have said yes (to Romney), we're going to support him as the lesser of two evils, but at the same time, we're making very clear that we're doing so realizing Mormonism is not Christianity."
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The speech at the gathering of around 300 pastors comes nearly a year after he said that Mormonism does not align with orthodox Christianity.
In April of this year, he endorsed Romney for the GOP nomination for president, noting that his decision is still in-tune with his views and that does not mean that he endorses Mormonism.
"I haven't changed my tune. In fact, I never said Christians should not vote for Mitt Romney. When I talked about his theology, I was answering a question about theology. And I still maintain there are vast differences in theology between Mormons and Christians, but we do share many of the same values, like the sanctity of life and religious freedom," the pastor said.
At Monday's event at The Club at Sonterra in San Antonio, the Southern Baptist minister again shared his belief that politics plays an important part in shaping religion in America.
"Do you know there are Christians out there right now who believe that to use your personal faith to try to change the course of our country is un-American, un-Christian and maybe illegal?" Jeffress said. "The Bible says for us to be salt, which means we're to change the culture we're in. Politics is not a dirty word."
In May 2012, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that despite differences in faith, white evangelical voters strongly support candidate Romney over President Barack Obama, at 68 percent compared to 19 percent.
