Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) scored a major presidential endorsement Wednesday from televangelist Pat Robertson, a move that undermines religious leaders’ recent assertions that social conservatives would unite behind one or two candidates.

Religious leaders have spent much of the year bemoaning their options, but a few have stepped forward this week and endorsed candidates who for various reasons have left many social conservatives uncomfortable.

Robertson’s assertion that he is comfortable that Giuliani would appoint conservative judges is a clear signal to socially conservative voters that they have nothing to fear from him on abortion issues, as he has said.

At last month’s Values Voters Summit, hosted by the Family Research Council, conservative leaders said that after the summit the religious right movement would start to “coalesce” around one or two candidates. But this week’s endorsements indicate that is far from happening, and the movement is as fragmented as ever.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who has long been viewed warily by conservatives despite his consistent views on abortion, shared the spotlight, picking up the endorsement of Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.). Brownback, who was until recently a candidate, was perhaps the purest conservative in the field, and thus buttresses McCain’s claim to that demographic.

And former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is also viewed by some social conservatives with skepticism because of both his Mormon faith and his evolution on social issues, won the backing of influential conservative leader Paul Weyrich. Weyrich, founding president of the Heritage Foundation, joined Bob Jones III in backing Romney.

Neither former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) nor former Baptist minister and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have enjoyed that kind of boost from religious leaders this week, despite early analysis predicting that they would be the ideal candidates of that voting bloc. Huckabee won the Values Voters straw poll with those who were present to hear the speakers, garnering more than 50 percent support.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the heft of Wednesday’s endorsements, Thompson and Huckabee downplayed Robertson’s endorsement, and other religious leaders were left scratching their heads.

“The GOP is a pro-life, pro-family values party, and no amount of endorsements make Rudy Giuliani the right man to lead this party,” said Karen Hanretty, a Thompson spokeswoman. “Fred Thompson has a pro-life, pro-family values voting record that primary voters agree with.”

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Commission on Ethics and Religious Liberty, said Giuliani’s efforts to use Robertson’s endorsement to assuage the concerns of social conservatives is misguided, as “the only person who can close that deal is Giuliani, not Robertson.”

Land and others rejected the suggestion that the disparity between endorsements and support is not indicative of a divided movement, but one that continues to carry a lot of weight.

“Nobody’s taking us for granted,” Land said.

Gary Bauer, head of American Values, said the nomination battle “continues to be a very fluid situation,” but it’s simplistic to think that conservative voters would line up behind one candidate the way they did in 2000 with then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

“Every economic conservative doesn’t endorse the same candidate, and it’s unreasonable, I think, to expect every social conservative leader to do so,” Bauer said.

Bauer acknowledged that there is a great deal of uncertainty within the social conservative leadership that reflects what is happening with grassroots conservatives.

“They’re going through the same process,” Bauer said. “They’re trying to find the best candidate.”

Connie Mackey, vice president for government affairs at FRC Action, said socially conservative leaders are divided among candidates who are not Giuliani.

“If we only had one candidate opposing Giuliani … there would be no problem rallying around them,” Mackey said.

Mackey said she found Robertson’s endorsement “more than surprising,” adding, “It’s puzzling. It makes no sense.

What’s in his mind is beyond me.”

Mackey and others say Robertson’s influence has diminished in recent years and backing Giuliani will only hasten that slide.

But the endorsement is undeniably a boost to Giuliani and further evidence that the former mayor’s detractors may be wrong in predicting his downfall once conservative voters know more about his beliefs.

“Pat Robertson’s support of the mayor is just the latest piece of news that debunks the conventional wisdom’s belief that social conservatives can’t and won’t support the mayor,” Maria Comella, a Giuliani spokeswoman, said in a release Wednesday.