Washington ( CNN ) -- Thomas Jefferson famously wrote about the wall of separation between church and state . He did n't mention separating church and politics , but everybody knows it 's a sticky wicket . On Friday , Robert Jeffress , a Southern Baptist minister , introduced Texas Gov . Rick Perry at at a gathering of social conservatives , calling Perry a genuine follower of Jesus Christ , as opposed to another candidate Jeffress could and did mention in a later interview . `` I think Mitt Romney is a good , moral man , but I think those of us who are born-again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney , '' Jeffress told CNN 's Jim Acosta . Read more : Perry 's minister problem ? Romney is a Mormon and he has passed this way before : Four years ago , the first time he ran for president , he made a speech to address concerns , rumors , and political analysis of his religion in a speech . `` I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it . Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy . If they 're right , so be it . '' Asked about the controversy on CNN 's `` State of the Union '' on Sunday , Romney 's Republican presidential rivals took a pass . `` I 'm not running for theologian in chief , '' businessman Herman Cain said . `` I 'm a lifelong Christian , and what that means is one of my guiding principles for the decisions I made is I start with , do the right thing . I 'm not getting into that controversy . '' Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann called the issue `` so inconsequential . '' Asked if she was concerned that people might think she was dodging the question , Bachmann said , `` I think , again , to make this a big issue is just ridiculous right now , because every day I 'm on the street talking to people . This is not what people are talking about . '' Asked the same question , Cain had a similar answer . `` If that 's what it looks like , I 'm dodging it , because it 's not going to help us boost this economy , and you know that that 's my No . 1 priority , '' he said . Many things sank Romney 's candidacy in 2008 . Religion may have been one of them . Explain it to me : Mormonism . Ron Brownstein , editorial director of the National Journal , points out that Romney ran poorly among evangelical Christians , especially in the South , in 2008 . `` In all the Southern states , he never topped out above 20 % of the votes among evangelical Christians ; only 11 % in the critical state of South Carolina , '' Brownstein said . In all , 45 % of Republicans who vote in primaries are conservative evangelical Christians . They are far less a factor in a general election . For Romney 's rivals , this requires straddling a line -- you do n't want to alienate a huge part of the primary vote , nor do you want to look intolerant .
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney 's # ##ism is once again under the spotlight . Influential Baptist preacher calls Romney a ` ` competent non - Christian '' unlike Rick Perry . Romney ran poorly among evangelical Christians , especially in the South , in 2008 .