Blog 5

Blog 5: Political Identity

            Politics and religion are two of the most vital aspects of people’s definition of themselves. The combination of these has led to wars, genocides, international disputes, and domestic discord. They are also two vital aspects of a person’s identity. Professor Hawkins defines identity as the ability to “define ourselves in terms of the groups we belong to” That definition leads to the conclusion that if you are a part of a certain group you will define yourself the same way as others in that group. In other words, there must be some aspect of what brings people together in that group that causes them to believe the things they do. Furthermore, for something to be considered an identity of the group it must be more than simply the opinion held by the majority, it must be an intrinsic concept or value of the group. In terms of politics, a shared political identity means that if you are a part of a certain group, you should then hold the same political opinions as others in that group. If we are to apply these tests to the LDS religion it becomes apparent that while there are strong political leanings there is no one LDS political identity.

There is no political identity because what unifies LDS people has nothing to do with political leanings. It is instead spiritual matters, and common values and beliefs that bring American members together. One key value is that of agency, meaning that each member is free and encouraged to come to his or her own understanding. It can then be extrapolated that members are thus expected to come to their own decisions about political matters. This was reinforced when the church reiterated their political neutrality. 

Since each member is encouraged to make his or her own political decisions, there is no clear political unity. So while there is certainly a majority of similar opinions it is not all-inclusive. This means that although there is definitely a majority republican opinion, which is demonstrated by the statistic that shows 66% of Mormons claim to have conservative views (as opposed to 37% of all Americans) (Khan). However simple majority alone cannot be construed as a political identity for the entire group. It does not represent the view of all members; this is even represented by the example of Professor Hawkins’ neighbor in the question as well as by the prevalence of the Mormons for Obama group with its nearly 2000 members. Even on the BYU campus, a relatively homogenous population there is political dissent. It is clear that while it is a majority opinion it is not universally held.  So while some may argue that only one political party represents the LDS values or perspective, there must be some aspects of the democrat party that draw LDS members.

The importance of agency as well as the lack of political unity lead not only to the lack of a clear political identity but also to an acceptance of constructivism in terms of understanding LDS political identities. Constructivism focuses on the malleability of political identity and that they are “an evolving process” (Samuels 2013) the fact that we as members grow and develop in our testimonies and thus our beliefs and identities discredits the primordialist perspective. We all have the choice to accept the gospel and remain members of the church, just as we have the choice of which political identity we will associate with.

Time and time again the church has declared its wish to remain politically neutral, it does not tell its members whom they should or should not vote for, and political involvement is not a requirement to be a member of the group. Since there politics is not a defining characteristic of the Mormon faith, and there is still political diversity, which is encouraged by the leadership in the Church, it is clear that there is no true American LDS political identity.

References

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.

Khan, Huma. Pew Survey: Majority of Mormons Lean Republican; Half Cite Discrimination Against Their Faith. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.