Boston: Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney retorted to questions about his faith by surging rival Mike Huckabee today, declaring that "attacking someone's religion is really going too far." In an article to be published Sunday in the New York Times, the front-running Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

Romney, vying to become the first Mormon elected president, refused to answer that question during an interview today, saying church leaders in Salt Lake City had already addressed the topic.
 
"But I think attacking someone s religion is really going too far. It s just not the American way, and I think people will reject that," Romney told NBC's "Today" show.
Asked if he believed Huckabee was speaking in a coded language to evangelicals, Romney praised his rival as a "good man trying to do the best he can," but he added, "I don t believe that the people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith and what church they go to."

Huckabee maintains that his question in the interview was taken out of context. A statement from his campaign said the full context of the exchange shows Huckabee illustrating his unwillingness to answer questions about Mormonism and theological issues.

"Governor Huckabee has said consistently that he believes this campaign should center on a discussion of the important issues confronting our nation and not focus on questions of religious belief," said Charmaine Yoest, a senior adviser.

Source : PTI