Mitt Romney and the Mormon Political Challenge

In the contested terrain of American politics, nowhere is the conflict more intense, even brutal, than in the territory of public life also claimed by religion. Mitt Romney’s 2007–08 presidential campaign is a textbook example.

Religious historian Craig L. Foster revisits that campaign with an astute focus on the never-quite-contained hostility that Romney triggered among America’s religious right. Although no political campaign is known for its sweetness and light, the back-stabbing, mea…