NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney plans to deliver a speech addressing his Mormon faith, which has been an issue among some U.S. Republican voters.
Romney will speak on "Faith in America" Thursday at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Polls have indicated many conservative Christian voters are suspicious of Mormonism, and the former Massachusetts governor has fielded repeated questions about his faith during his campaign for the GOP nomination, but has resisted suggestions that he address the issue in a speech.
Romney campaign officials told the Times this week's address is seen as an opportunity for the candidate to "share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played in the progress of our nation and how the governor's own faith would inform his presidency if he were elected."
The decision to take on the issue in a speech comes as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- an ordained Baptist minister -- has overtaken the GOP field as the front-runner in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Huckabee has been airing ads in Iowa that describe him as a Christian leader.
