Blog 5

Blog 5: Political Identity

            It has been said that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints have a specific political identity because of the beliefs that come with being LDS. Political identity is defined as “the ways that individuals categorize themselves and others and how they understand the power relationships of domination and oppression that exist between groups.” (Samuels, 149) The beliefs of the LDS church tend to align more with the beliefs of the Republican Party who are viewed as more conservative in American politics. I believe that this is true and that there is a definite LDS perspective when it comes to politics. I also believe that this supports the constructivist argument concerning political identity.

            Constructivists believe that a person’s beliefs or interests can influence their political identity and the party that they feel a connection too. The Republican Party overall is against abortion, gay marriage, and other things that have been dubbed to be more liberal. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not have a political party that they directly support, and they do not tell their members whom they should vote for. However, the church does not believe in abortion, gay marriage, and other issues that have been debated in politics. This supports the case for constructivism, because people who are converts to the church are influenced by their new religious beliefs and tend to support the Republican Party. It is their religion, not their early childhood, which influences their political identity.

While the LDS beliefs are more similar to the beliefs of the Republican Party, there are members of the church who support the Democratic Party. Statistics from Utah Data Points shows that “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%)… Utah Democrats are happier about the Republican nominee than are Utah Republicans about the Democratic nominee.” (Monson) Most people who live in the state of Utah are members of the LDS church. As seen above, Democrats have a much more favorable view of the Mormon, Republican presidential nominee than Republicans do of the Democratic presidential nominee. Quin Monson from Utah Data Points believes that the difference can be attributed to “shared religious experience that best explains Democrats’ affinity for Romney.” (Monson) I agree with his assumption. Democrats are more likely to approve of Mitt Romney because he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This relates back to the constructivist argument, because Mormon Democrats feel a connection to Romney even though he is the nominee for the opposing party.

            Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have similar political interests, because of their common belief in the church. While the church does not support a specific political party, the beliefs of the LDS church are more consistent with the beliefs and platform of the Republican Party. The constructivist theory of political identity states that beliefs and interests influence people’s political identities. The distinct LDS political identity supports this argument, because people who were not raised in the church also tend to be supporters of the Republican Party. Mormon Democrats show more support for Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, because he is of the same religion. I believe the approval rating would be much lower if Romney was not Mormon.

Bibliography

Monson, Quin. “Do LDS Dems like Mitt Romney?”. Utah Data Points, August 22, 2012. http://utahdatapoints.com/2012/08/do-lds-dems-like-mitt-romney/

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Pearson.