David Harsanyi on Romney and ‘the religious test for public office’

David Harsanyi writes:

Many Americans, evidently, believe that Mormons such as Romney are heretics, too impure to take on the virtuous job of being a politician. (…)

Let’s just stretch the imagination for a moment. Suppose a candidate had a deep fidelity with a faith that is known to occasionally keep women from driving, one that believes 90 lashes for speaking out of turn is an acceptable form of punishment and one that overlooks forced circumcisions and allows honor killings. Let’s say that this faith leaves little distinction between the state and God. If any tenets of your faith conflict with the liberty of others, does religion become a political matter?