Is America ready for a Mormon President?

(CBS) COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mitt Romney faced down the question of whether America is ready for a Mormon President on Friday night in Hilton Head, South Carolina. During a town meeting, supporter Betty Treen took the microphone to ask the former Massachusetts Governor point blank about his faith.

"I am for you, but I need to ask you a personal question: Do you believe in the divine saving grace of Jesus Christ?" A murmur could be heard in the crowd in the few seconds it took Romney to get the microphone back.

"Yes, I do," Romney began, as the crowd erupted into applause led by home state governor Nikki Haley, who was on stage with the candidate she has endorsed.

"I would note there are people in our nation that have different beliefs; there are people of the Jewish faith, and people of the Islamic faith, and other faiths who believe other things, and our President will be President of the people of all faiths," Romney said, again interrupted by applause.

Then, finally, Romney got to the take away.

"Our nation was founded on the principle in some respects, of religious tolerance and liberty in this land, and so we welcome people of other faiths, and I happen to believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and my Savior."

It was an unusually blunt statement about his religious beliefs for Romney in response to a rare voter question about them.

"I know other people have differing views, and I respect those views and don't believe those qualify or disqualify people for leadership in our nation," Romney said.

The shadow over Romney's candidacy is whether white evangelical voters, who made up 55 percent of South Carolina Republican primary voters in 2008, would effectively disqualify Romney in this pivotal primary state.

Sixty percent of Republican primary voters nationwide told CBS NEWS this week that it is important for a presidential candidate to share their religious views. To white evangelicals, it is even more important -- 85 percent said shared faith was important.

Brad Atkins, President of South Carolina's Baptist Convention, said the voters' grounding in faith is no surprise for the Palmetto State.

"When we look at a candidate, we cannot just take their spiritual aspect of their life and disconnect it from their political aspect. If you look in the word of God, it says that 'A man thinks in his heart, so he is,' which means the core beliefs that candidate has ultimately is going to dictate the way he implements policy."

With 600,000 parishioners, Baptists are the state's largest Christian denomination. Atkins, an active minister himself, does not embrace Mormons as fellow Christians.

"To me, it's just a different group of people, a different group of faith. Just like Islam is a different group of people, a different group of faith," he said.

In fact, while 97 percent of Mormons consider themselves Christians, only 51 percent of Christians consider Mormons to be Christians, according the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Only two percent of Americans call themselves Mormon.

"The thing that makes me the most frustrated is the people who don't believe we believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in Jesus Christ; He is the center of our faith," said Mike Kehoe, a Mormon who attended a Romney rally in Columbia, S.C., this week. "It was tough to elect a Catholic in 1960, and after we elect a Mormon for the first time, it'll be no big deal."

Vietnam veteran John Snyder, who attended the same Romney rally in Columbia this week, believes character counts, but isn't picky about religion.

"His example of his faith is in the way he lives his life, and I admire that. I'm not a Mormon, but admire the fact that he lives his life in a moral and in a responsible way," Snyder said. "He's well grounded in his faith and his love for the country and his love for his family."

Unlike Catholic Rick Santorum and evangelical Rick Perry, who tend to wear their faith on their sleeves, Romney keeps his lifelong membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka. The Mormon Church, close to the vest.

At a lunch gathering at Doc's Barbeque and Southern Buffet in Columbia this week, the Texas governor said, "Is my training of Biblical principles going to be reflected in how I would govern? And the answer is 'yes.'

Undecided voter Patty McBride went to see Perry in Waltersboro, S.C. "Religion is a great factor in making my decision, absolutely. I believe prayer should be put back in schools," McBride said. "I don't have an issue with Mitt Romney being a Mormon, but I do have a few issues with Mitt Romney himself."

Starting in Iowa, former Pennsylvania senator Santorum has made faith and family values the center of his campaign.

"We're the first and only country that says rights come to us from God." he told supporters in Columbia this week. "Four different times God is mentioned in the Declaration if Independence."

Santorum won an out-of-state endorsement from disaffected conservative Christian religious leaders gathering in Texas on Saturday.

The group of 150 activsts included James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and his predecessor and one-time presidential candidate, Gary Bauer.

Afterwards, Perkins said, "We need to come together. If you add up all the votes for the conservative candidates, for instance in the polling in South Carolina, between Santorum, Gingrich, and Perry, that would put a candidate at the top."

Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are Catholics.

Ray Henry, a retired Kodak worker from Casey, S.C., supports Gingrich, but is among the minority of South Carolina Republicans when it comes to religion in politics.

"Everyone needs to be treated fairly, and it doesn't matter whether he's Mormon or Catholic or Protestant, as long as he does his job in Washington and does the things he's supposed to do up there."

Sarah Boxer, Rebecca Kaplan, Sarah Huisenga, Naureen Khan, and Caroline Horn contributed to this story.