Blog 5: Political Identity

            The pervading conventional wisdom in this country is that there is a strong correlation between the LDS Church and membership in the Republican Party. This conclusion is supported by data. Of the fourteen LDS congressmen currently serving in the US House of Representatives or Senate, eleven or 78% are Republican. This trend extends beyond positions of leadership. This proportion is affirmed by the results of a 2011 survey that concluded 74% of Mormons identify with or lean towards the Republican Party (The Pew Forum). This percentage is roughly 30% higher than the national average.

            It is safe to say that there are strong ties between members of the LDS church and the Republican Party. And although this association is not universal, it is high enough to indicate that there is something about the church’s teachings or culture that drives individuals to the party. To analyze this relationship, we must establish whether Republicans are driven to the LDS Church, or Mormons are driven to the Republican Party. In general, the LDS Church strives to be apolitical. In addition, missionary lessons are based solely on religious doctrine and theology. So one can reasonably infer that church membership is rarely politically motivated.

            Some aspects of LDS political identity are an example of constructivism. The LDS Church is relatively diverse, and many members join as adults. Despite wide differences in upbringings, the LDS church still maintains a strong correlation with conservative politics. This suggests that something about becoming a Mormon compels people to adopt conservative politics. Primordialism, or the idea that political identity stems from deep psychological processes early in life, does not have a strong explanation for how diverse backgrounds could lead to such political unity. In addition, there are many children who eventually stray from their parent’s political beliefs despite being raised in a strongly LDS and conservative home. This shows that one’s political identity can change over time.

            Constructivism, the idea that political identity is malleable and subject to external factors (Samuels, 2012), is supported by the LDS/Republican trend. Some components of LDS doctrine are likely to influence an individual’s opinion about conservative politics. The most prominent LDS teaching that is likely to have this effect is a strong belief in traditional families, and that homosexuality and abortion are sins. The Republican Party also holds these values, and opposes the allowance of gay marriage and abortion. The LDS Church leadership often stays silent about specific policy ideas, but one notable exception to this was their endorsement of the controversial Proposition 8 in California, which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The explicit support of this policy confirmed that the LDS Church itself does indeed support some socially conservative political views.

            Aside from gay marriage, there are not many official public statements about political issues for Mormons to cling to. For example, although the LDS Church opposes the use of drugs, they have not taken an official stance on its legality. I believe the two-party system itself is the primary motivator behind many Mormons who adopt most or all of the positions of the Republican Party. When forming or solidifying one’s political identity, individuals look at the positions they have and then for a party that shares them. Many individuals will have issues that they don’t have an opinion on yet, but they will seek a party that shares their existing ideas. So a Mormon who opposes gay marriage, but is unsure about economic policy, will probably join the Republican Party in America.

The binary approach to parties and their positions will often lead that person to gradually or immediately accept the other positions of that party, likely because they respect the intellectuals with whom they agree. This is why there is such a strong correlation in America between Keynesian economics and pro-choice views on abortion, or Laissez-Faire economics and opposition to gay marriage. There is not a logical link between the two (in fact, they are opposites in terms of government control), and yet the two-party system has led to many individuals holding both opinions. This strong party influence is another strong piece of evidence to support constructivism.

Blog 5

Blog 5

Is there a distinct LDS political identity here in the United States?

In order to determine what political identity members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints belong to, we must first identify the two political parties that exist here in the United States: Democratic and Republican. The democrats have a more liberal view about social issues and argue towards the approval of gay marriage and abortion. The Republican Party, on the other hand, is much rather conservative and goes against the democrats’ views. These are not the only differences between these two parties but since we are trying to relate a religious group with a political group, moral ground would fit best as a measurement of this correlation.

The members of the LDS Church are generally very conservative and therefore support the Republican Party of the United States. This party’s ideologies support most of the Saints’ beliefs and so 74% of registered Mormon voters support the Republican Party (Politico, 2012). For example, LDS doctrine does not approve gay marriage or abortion, so it makes sense that Mormons give this party their major support. However, the authorities of the Church do not take a stand to support any political group. Also, morality is not the only factor that affects the political identity of members of the Church. Even members who are democrats can also be conservative. If not, all of the truly devoted members would support the Republican Party.

Religion still plays a high role in politics though. In these upcoming elections, there has been major turmoil among Mormons ever since Mitt Romney was nominated as presidential candidate for the Republican Party. Mormons even think it is a good thing for the Church to have a companion of their own faith running for office. In a recent analysis conducted by Kelly Patterson, both the majority of republican (79%) and democrat (54%) voters said that Romney’s candidacy was a good thing for the Church. Moreover, another survey on Utah data points shows that Mormon democrats feel better about Romney’s candidacy than Mormon republicans do about Barack Obama’s candidacy (Monson).

Another distinct factor of the LDS’ direction on political identity is their Western culture. Ever since the founding of the Church, Mormons experienced a great deal of discrimination even from the Republican Party when it was promoting anti-slavery but attacking Mormons for polygamy (The Salt Lake Tribune). This eventually led them to pioneering in the Western front, which helped them develop a great deal of self-reliance and independence. Therefore, they have learned not to rely on government and be against socialist ideals. At the same time though, Christian values teach to help thy neighbor and so it would also make sense that Mormons support the Democratic Party because their ideals tend to include a high involvement of government in order to give support to the poor. However, I believe that Mormons tend to take this factor out and focus more on other moral grounds.

Considering all these factors I would say that constructivist theory of political identity explains why Mormons tend to lean more towards the Republican Party. Growing up in a LDS household does not mean that this will lead to a certain political identity. As mentioned before, the Church does not take any stance on any political party or ideology. Therefore, the fact that Mormons usually prefer to support the Republican Party is due to an acquired set of ideals and a very delicate decision of conservatism.

Bibliography

1.     "Republican Party Started out Anti-Mormon | The Salt Lake Tribune." Republican Party Started out Anti-Mormon | The Salt Lake Tribune. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home3/53577596-200/church-party-mormons-republican.html.csp

2.     "POLITICO." POLITICO. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71362.html

3.     Patterson, Kelly. "Who thinks Governor Romney’s candidacy is good for the LDS Church?" (2012): n. page. Print. http://utahdatapoints.com/2012/08/who-thinks-governor-romneys-candidacy-is-good-for-the-lds-church

4.     Monson, Quin. "Do LDS Dems like Romney?." (2012): n. page. Print. http://utahdatapoints.com/2012/08/do-lds-dems-like-mitt-romney

Political Identity

Blog 5 LDS Political Identity

Is there a political identity amongst LDS church members? If there is, is it significant enough to be noticeable in voting patterns for these members? First we must define what an identity is and more specifically what a political identity is to be able to come to a conclusion of these questions. Once we do, we will find that for the majority of the LDS members, there is one political party that they vote for.

Identity is the human capacity to form groups amongst themselves based on a common race, language, religion, etc. Thus political identity is when a certain identity that we group ourselves to influences our political decisions (Hawkins). To say that there is a political identity within the LDS community, one must look at both Utah and the nation as a whole. And throughout the church across the nation, it is well known that the average LDS member votes republican and is conservative. However, this isn’t true for all but is true for the majority. The reason that this is true is that much of the doctrine the LDS members receive on government and philosophical views comes from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. These books tell many stories that have to do with how government should work, and what happened in certain countries (Mos 29, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants 134). The LDS members for the most part, interpret these in the conservative or Republican way because these ideas are portrayed this way more obviously.

 And because of the lack of influence from the church’s leaders to vote for specific nominees or policy, the members are left to research the topic in the Book of Mormon, and also with their own beliefs and their experiences from their lives (Mormon News Room). Thus these elements include both the primordialist and contructivist arguments. Primordialism is the idea that childhood experiences and family influence identities. Constructivism is the idea that one’s political identity can be malleable (Samuels) However, these are more constructivist theory when looking at the research side in the Book of Mormon. But when children are raised with this idea from their parents, it turns to influence the children, which is a primordialist idea. Thus this contains both theories.

Although, the reason why the political identity exists here is because the children are raised with the conservative ideas already from their parents who molded their beliefs from the earliest generations of the church because of the ideas of the Book of Mormon conforming to a specific political party, i.e. the Republican. This idea is evident when looking at polls. “A higher proportion of Utah Democrats have a favorable impression of Mitt Romney (23%) than the approval of Utah Republicans of Barack Obama’s job performance (5%). While 23% of all Utah Democrats view Governor Romney favorably, that proportion goes up to 42% when looking only at Mormon Democrats. Only 16% of Democrats from other faiths and 19% of non-religious Democrats say the same (Monson).” This is striking evidence for the idea that there is an identity because 42% of Mormon Democrats favor Romney, which is almost double that of non-Mormon Democrats. This is because the LDS members who are Democrats trust Romney because they are part of his identity as an LDS member, and further, they know what he believes and how he carries himself because he belongs to this identity. Therefore the LDS identity has had political ramifications and influenced the way people think of the candidates. This confirms the idea of a soft political identity existing within the LDS community. This is significant when looking at just Utah and we will find that nearly the same holds true for the nation as a whole.

Overall, the political identity exists in the LDS community because of the primordialist view that parents, who have already interpreted the ideas, influence their children’s thoughts on politics. There is also a common trust within people of the same identity, which can be seen in the Mormon Democrats’ view of Romney. These ideas reveal that there is a political identity in LDS community and there will be as long as the primordialist idea prevails in this identity.

Work Cited

Professor Hawkins, Political Science 150, 10/10/12, Brigham Young University

The Book of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants.

Mormon News Room. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/political-neutrality

Utah Data Points. Quin Monson “Do LDS Dems Like Romney?” August 22, 2012

David J. Samuels, Comparative Politics. Pg 153

Mormon Politics?

A common misconception of Mormon’s is that in the United States if you are LDS, then you are a conservative Republican. We will look to deconstruct this statement and take it a bit further in our investigation. We will begin with the official statement of their church, followed by data showing the kind of political response we find from the LDS members and finally where a political identity arises, if any.

 The truth of the matter is that not all Mormons are Republican, simply because of how culturally diverse the LDS Faith is and the political neutrality of the church itself. The only statement that could be found about the LDS faith’s political neutrality comes from a press release where they claim political neutrality but encourage each member to participate knowledgably and actively in the political process of their local and national governments.(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint’s newsroom, Political Neutrality) With this said , every few years or so the LDS church leaders have a statement read, to remind and encourage their members to participate politically, in their general sacrament meeting.                

 It is interesting to note however, according to the Pew Research Center ( a research group that poll and study religion and public life), that  74% of Mormons say that they lean towards the Republican Party for their political preference. The reason for this it may arise from a constructivist origin of this political identity. In other words according to David J Samuels in his book Comparartive Politics, this strong form of republican support may arise from the process of time and experimentation. Many United States LDS people see the Republican’s agenda as helpful and supportive of their own beliefs as had been proven over time. The LDS  people may not be united as a whole politically but they are still shaped by the choices they make individually, each person with their own political identity.

Works Cited

Political Neutrality, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Press release Newsroom 2012

Mormons in America, Pew Research Center, Janurary 12, 2012

                Comparative Politics, David J Samuels, Pearson 2013

The Mormon Thing

Michael Sean Covey

Blog 5           

           Although American Latter-day Saints come from a variety of states, backgrounds, and ethnicities, they have a strong, conservative, Republican, political identity. What it is that causes this distinct political identity? I assert that there is one main factor: a deep-rooted LDS culture of self-sufficiency and independency from the government. While the primordialist argument does a better job of explaining this identity, the constructivist argument also plays a role.

            Numerous polls and studies have shown that Mormons are overwhelmingly conservative and Republican. A Gallup Poll revealed that 60% of Mormons in Utah are conservative, 31% are moderate, and only 7% are liberal (Gallup). Some may argue that it is just “Utah Mormons” that are strongly conservative, and that this political identity is not found among Latter-day Saints in other states. However, data proves the exact opposite. The same Gallup Poll showed that Latter-day Saints, in different states other than Utah, are 58% conservative, 31% moderate, and 9% liberal. These numbers are almost identical to the numbers inside of Utah! Mormons are consistently conservative, regardless of what state they live in. It is not just a “Utah thing”—it’s a Mormon thing. Further data proves just how unique Mormons are. The Gallup Poll revealed that only 46% of Protestants are conservative, 39% of Catholics, 23% of Muslims, and 20% of Jewish. Compare any of those numbers to the 58% of Mormons. Gallup concluded, “Mormons are both the most Republican and the most conservative of any of the major religious groups in the U.S. today” (Gallup). The data proves that Latter-day Saints have a uniquely conservative political identity.

            One of the main causes of this conservative LDS identity is a deeply rooted church culture of self-sufficiency and independency from the government. For years LDS Church leaders have regularly taught the importance of becoming self-reliant. Spencer W. Kimball summed it up when he said, “The responsibility of each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church is he is a faithful member thereof. No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else” (Monson). Notice that President Kimball did not say anything about the federal government. When Latter-day Saints are struggling to provide, they first turn to their families, and then to church welfare for help. The government is probably third on the list. There is nothing wrong with receiving help from the government; I’m simply pointing out that Latter-day Saints have a unique support system in the church that oftentimes replaces the need for governmental help. This leads many Latter-day Saints to support a smaller, limited, and less involved federal government, which is one of the main tenets of the Republican Party. On the contrary, non-members, who do not have a church welfare system, more quickly go to the government for help, and therefore would be more inclined to favor a bigger and more involved federal government. This unique church culture is a main cause of the LDS political identity.

            The primordialist argument does a decent job of explaining the cause of this political identity. Its premise is that political identities are innate and largely unchanging (Samuels p. 153). In other words, if you’re born into a Mormon family and community, you will become a conservative, not by your own choice, but unconsciously from the context you came from. Remember from the Gallup Poll that about 6 out of 10 Mormons are conservative, and only 1 out of 10 are liberal. If you grow up in a community that does not favor a massive federal government, and votes conservative, this is what you will be conditioned to. This primordialist argument works a lot of the time, but it fails to explain the church members who choose to be liberal, or those who join the church in their adulthood and consciously change their political identity. For example, my cousin’s father, Mike, grew up in a liberal-Democratic household and continued with that political identity for much of his early adulthood. After joining the LDS church, however, he started to become more conservative, to despise big government, and feel like he aligned more closely with the Republican Party. His political identity was molded and changed through his own conscious decisions. This example would support the constructivist argument, which says that individuals have some choice over their political identities (Samuels p. 157).

            In conclusion, Mormons are the most conservative and Republican group in the United States. They have a uniquely strong, conservative, political identity. One of the main causes of this is a deeply-rooted church culture of independency from the federal government, which leads many Mormons to vote conservative. The primordialist argument explains much of this political identity, but the constructivist argument also plays an important role.  

Works Cited

Gallup Poll. “Mormons Most Conservative Major Religious Group in U.S.” 2009. 

            http://www.gallup.com/poll/125021/Mormons-Conservative-Major-

            Religious-Group.aspx

Monson, Thomas S. “Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare.” Ensign.

            Sept. 1986. http://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/09/guiding-principles-of-personal-and-family-  

            welfare?lang=eng&query=self+sufficiency

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Pearson Education: 2013.