The Faith and Freedom Coalition’s two-day conference showed that the religious right still plays a major role in the nominating process, even if it is less organized than during the Christian Coalition’s heyday.
The gathering was a tryout for candidates hoping to fill a void left by former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, an ordained Baptist minister who won the 2008 Iowa caucus but is not running for the 2012 Republican nomination.
Most candidates spent more time on money issues than on spiritual matters on the opening day. But they generally portrayed the federal debt and health care policies as moral concerns. They also paid tribute to religious conservatives who often place social issues ahead of concerns about taxes and spending.
“I do not believe the Republican Party should focus solely on our economic life to the neglect of our human life,” Jon M. Huntsman Jr. told the audience of several hundred after citing antiabortion laws he signed when governor of Utah.
The Republican contenders who seem to be making the most direct appeals to evangelical voters are Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota; Tim Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota; Rick Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania; and Newt Gingrich of Georgia, a former House speaker, who declined an invitation to speak.
Mr. Pawlenty opened and closed his remarks with biblical quotes. He said his top four “common-sense principles” for the nation were to turn toward God, protect the unborn, support traditional marriage and keep Americans secure.
Ms. Bachmann, inching toward a presidential bid, reminded the audience that she home-schooled her five children and ended with a prayer that asked a blessing for President Obama, whom she had sharply criticized moments earlier.
Mitt Romney may have the toughest task in wooing religious conservatives. As governor of Massachusetts, he supported legalized abortion, gay rights and gun control, but he has reversed his stands. He cited “our belief in the sanctity of human life” and said marriage should apply to “one man and one woman.”
Representative Ron Paul of Texas mixed quotes from the Bible with his familiar libertarian proposals, like returning to the gold standard.
All these lines got applause. Still, a sense of unease sometimes hung over the event. Organizers acknowledged that some religious conservatives were not happy with the current emphasis on economic matters. The audience members sat silently when Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi urged them to embrace the eventual nominee. “Purity is the enemy of victory,” said Mr. Barbour, who has decided against his own presidential bid.
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