Romney stands by his faith

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney, who is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. president, said Sunday he's fine with people asking questions about his Mormon faith.

Speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," the former Massachusetts governor said most people don't know much about Mormonism and "it's natural" for them to ask about it. He said he usually directs doctrinal questions to the church "because they could probably do a better job explaining than I can," but he said he's open to discussing how his faith impacts his views on important issues.

While some voters won't vote for him strictly because of religion, Romney said he thinks most people are more interested in candidates' values, vision for the country and ability to help the country.

Romney said he takes Mormon teachings literally, but then deferred to church leaders a question about whether he believes the Garden of Eden was in Missouri, as stated in the Book of Mormon.

He said he believes in evolution and that God instilled people with souls.

"I believe there's no conflict between true religion and true science," he said. "There's so much we don't know, probably both on the scientific front as well as on the front of theology."