Many
people in the United States find it shocking to hear the words, “I’m voting for Obama and I’m a
Mormon.” This is because in the US there is a distinct LDS political
identity. The Democratic party and Mormons don't typically go together. Although the church is nonpartisan, members and non-members alike will
typically associate Mormons with conservatism and the Republican party.
When looking at different studies throughout
the country, the Republican LDS political identity is easily visible. A
national survey discovered that seventy-four percent of American Mormons more
closely identify themselves with the Republican party than with any other party.¹ In
the state of Utah about seventy-five percent of voters identify themselves as
Mormon²,
and in the 2004 presidential election seventy-one percent of its votes went to
Republican incumbent George Bush.³ Utah has the largest population of
Mormons out of any other state and in six of the last nine presidential
elections has been the most Republican state.⁴ This indicates a strong
correlation between being Republican and being Mormon. In this year’s presidential race,
Republican candidate Mitt Romney has a six to one lead from Latter-Day Saints
against President Barack Obama. Another study showed that in the Nevada
primaries in 2008 ninety-five percent of Mormons voted for Mitt Romney, and
this year ninety-one percent voted for him.⁵ These polls reflect a distinct LDS
political identity of strong conservative beliefs. The Republican party is
almost guaranteed the Mormon vote.
Arguably, one of the main reasons for
the presence of this political identity is that many LDS members take into
account the views and standards of the church when creating opinions on public
policy. There are many areas of politics where the views of the Republican
party and the church are in agreement. An example of this is the opposition of
both of these groups against certain controversial issues such as abortion and
gay marriage. The similar stances on important issues such as these, help to
explain why the majority of Mormons affiliate themselves with the Republican
party.
There are two different theories that
try to explain the presence of a political identity. Constructivism says that
“political identities are malleable…and suggests that we think of identity as
an evolving political process rather than as a fixed set of identity
categories.”⁶ As the standards of the gospel are eternal, this theory is not extremely
relevant to the LDS political identity. If a Mormon bases political opinions on
gospel doctrine, these opinions will not change. The primordialist view much
better explains its presence. This theory holds that political identities are
developed early in life as a result of one’s family and are not subject to change
(Samuels).
An important aspect of the church is the
parent’s responsibility to teach their children the gospel. Beginning at a very
early age, LDS children are told what is right and what is wrong. Kids are
taught that it is important to be self-reliant, that abortion is wrong, in
essence, they are taught many things that fall in line with the platform of the
Republican party. Because of the parallels in these views and the unchanging
nature of the doctrines of the church, a Mormon’s political identity as a
conservative is thus present throughout their life and not likely to change.
Throughout the LDS church in the United States there is
a very distinct political identity. Because of the alignment of many of the
beliefs between conservatives and the church, many members identify with the
Republican party. This political identity is one of primordialism, an identity that
is almost inherited from one’s family as a child.
I really like this blog, especially how you emphasized how mormon kids are taught from a young age the basic principles of Republicanism, thats something I didn't think of.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is a pretty strong political identity. However, I would argue that it is constructivism in nature just because there ARE politically democratic Mormons, and there are many converts to the church who were not raised with any of the same values that those in the church were, but still can later share the same political values as those who have been members their whole lives.
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