Photo: Chitose Suzuki/APCan a Mormon be elected president of the US? This question will take on added spice as Mitt Romney, the outgoing Republican governor of Massachusetts, moves closer to declaring his candidacy.
At the moment, he is a long shot for the presidency, though he can count on the support - political and financial - of a vibrant Mormon community in Utah. A new Rasmussen Reports poll has him in fourth place, trailing John McCain, Rudolph Giuliani and Condoleezza Rice.
But as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mr Romney can expect a lot of scrutiny about his faith.
There was a foretaste in 1994 when, in an unsuccessful attempt to supplant Ted Kennedy as a senator, he faced a succession of accusers, some anonymous, asserting that he and the Mormons were anti-abortion, anti-single mothers and anti-gay. And of course, there is that old bugbear, polygamy.
The P word continues to dog the Mormons, despite their best efforts to throw off the tag.
True, the church's 1890 "manifesto" against polygamy prohibits it here on Earth; yet scriptures retain the practice as a celestial ideal for believers who find their way to the kingdom of heaven. More than 20,000 renegade Mormon fundamentalists continue to have several wives in some western states, as well as in Mexico and Canada.
What is particularly interesting about this poll is that 43% of US voters say they would never even consider voting for a Mormon presidential candidate. Only 38% say they would consider casting such a vote, while 19% are not sure.
So Mr Romney's Mormon faith is very much a live issue in his presidential aspirations. It's hardly encouraging news for him as he entertains thoughts of getting the keys to the White House.
