Why isn't Romney's Mormonism an issue?

As anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows, I am not religious.  All religious beliefs seem whack-a-doo to me.  However, I recognize that Mormonism is different from Christianity, and I wonder why Christians aren't obviously bothered by Romney's beliefs, or at least talking about them more.

First of all, Mormons reject the authority of other Judeo-Christian religions.  For example, if you're Catholic and believe that the Pope receives his authority through direct succession from Peter, Romney thinks you're wrong.  Read about the "Great Apostasy," and how the "divine authority" of God was given to Joseph Smith.

This is quite different from being an atheist, a secularist, and fighting for freedom of religion and church/state separation.  My view is that government and religion should not be entangled; that government should not take a position that imposes on another person's beliefs, and whether those beliefs are rooted in mythology is irrelevant.  My view is the one proposed by the founders of this country and written into the Constitution: the first line of the first article of the Bill of Rights.  This is supremely supportive of religion, but only if you value being supportive of all religions, not just your special flavor.

Mormons claim they're Christian, but many Christians refuse to recognize Mormons as Christian.  It's not hard to see why.  Mormons believe they're Christians because they believe in the basic tenets of Christianity; they just also believe that all other Christians are wrong and that God took their authority away from them, and gave it to Joseph Smith instead.  This is why other Christians reject the idea that Mormons are Christians.  If they accepted that, then they'd have to accept that their beliefs are based on a distorted, un-authoritative doctrine.  And we can't have that.

This makes the selection of Paul Ryan, a Catholic, an interesting choice for Romney.  It should bring into stark relief the conflict between their religious beliefs.  So far, though, it hasn't.  Apparently Christians only care that you believe some form of lunacy (mythology), but don't care so much about the particulars, even if the particulars are starkly at odds with their own beliefs.   Apparently people who just want religion and government separate are more distasteful than those who are a-okay with entanglement but profoundly reject the basis of their beliefs.  Strange.

I just want to raise the topic of religious belief, and the role it plays in presidential politics.  Amy Davidson has a great piece on this at The New Yorker ("Later-Day Politics: Can we talk about Mormonism now?").   Especially with his VP pick, Mitts beliefs should be fair game.