Christian video slaps at Romney

An executive for one of the nation’s leading evangelical groups says in a video voter guide that Mitt Romney has “acknowledged Mormonism is not a Christian faith,” although the Republican presidential candidate has said he follows Jesus Christ and his church defines itself as Christian.

Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said in an interview Friday that the comment was his interpretation of a speech Romney gave in December addressing his religion.

Minnery said that he spoke with the campaign after the video was posted this week, and staff members did not contest his view or ask him to retract the statement. “We’ve got a good relationship with them,” he said.

Kevin Madden, a Romney spokesman, said in an e-mail that “campaign guides by advocacy groups consist of their viewpoints.”

Romney has long been dedicated to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a New England-area bishop and helping build a Mormon temple near Boston.

Minnery made the comments in “Focus Action Candidate Commentary,” a series of short videos made to help voters understand the positions of leading Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on issues important to social conservatives.

The Focus Action website , citizenlink.org, is the political arm of James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs. Dobson has only made one endorsement in a presidential race, backing President Bush in 2004.