WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Republican presidential candidates have
refused to say whether they believe Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is a
Christian, while two others say they don't agree with a Texas pastor who called the religion a "cult."

Businessman Herman Cain and Minnesota congresswoman Michele
Bachmann declined to answer questions about Romney's Mormon
religion.

Cain said. "I am not going to do an analysis of Mormonism versus Christianity for the sake of answering that." Bachmann called the issue a "ridiculous" distraction.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was more direct, saying --
as Texas Gov. Rick Perry did Friday -- that he doesn't consider Mormonism a cult.

The issue of Romney's religion surfaced Friday after a pastor told reporters after introducing Perry at a forum that Romney was "not a Christian." The Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, also told reporters that Mormonism is a "cult."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another GOP presidential
contender, criticized Jeffress' comments on Sunday, calling them "very unwise and very inappropriate."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)