Republican Jon Huntsman Jr. and Democrat Scott Matheson Jr. each cautiously recognized the need for respecting minority views without denying the role of religion in the community.

"Our Constitution provides for separation of church and state. We'll take an oath as those who are elected to public office to honor and respect that Constitution and, therefore, I would abide by that principle," said Matheson during Friday night's taping of a KUED-TV debate. "At the same time, it's important we recognize all of the institutions. . . . We need to respect each other, and we need to tolerate each other."

Huntsman also talked about the need for the governor to embrace diversity.

"Yes, we might have a predominant religion in this state, but we have lots of pieces that make us the state that we are," said Huntsman. "What I want to see happen with the next governor is having a person who respects differences, regardless of what religion you happen to be, regardless of your belief system."

During the hourlong, town-meeting style debate - to be aired 7 p.m. Monday - a University of Utah student asked if the candidates would support "normalization of the state's liquor laws."

"I'm not a drinker myself, but I think that in all fairness to those who do drink, it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to have someone who is a drinker or two on the body that's making some of these decisions," said Huntsman, referring to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. The Republican, who has made economic development and tourism a cornerstone of his campaign, said he doesn't think Utah's liquor laws are too bad.

"I think where we've dropped the ball is on the implementation side," he said. "I think without having to change the laws, there's a whole lot we can do, . . . as it relates to more transparency, the ease with which people are able to go about ordering alcohol."

Matheson said he had no specific plan for changing liquor laws but believes improvements can be made.

"Working with our tourism industry and our hospitality industry and our community as a whole, there are things we can do to improve the image and perception that we have in this area," he said. "It's important to have an open mind, which I do."