Blog 5

Whether or not there is an LDS political identity in the United States is a question worthy of debate and brings up the problem of how this culture could have come to be when the church claims political neutrality. Despite the fact that there is room for debate since there is not unanimity on political views for the entire church, there is a clear correlation of support for Conservative and Republican identity in the LDS community that suggest a political identity to some extent. In general in LDS community, one almost assumes that someone will be a Conservative Republican and the facts back up that this assumption would be correct a large amount of the time. According to a study performed by Pew Forum, 60% of LDS members tend to lean towards Conservatism and 27% support Moderate views whereas only 10% acknowledge Liberal affiliation. Furthermore, 52% of LDS members in the study confirmed Republican association and only 15% classified themselves as Democrats. Data from people unaffiliated with a U.S. religious group shows a much more even distribution across party lines and ideological opinions (Pew Forum). However, the church states that is not politically aligned and strives to maintain that image. In a recent LDS international conference, Dallin H. Oaks, a leader of the church said:

“Although I do not speak in terms of politics or public policy, like

 other church leaders, I cannot speak…without implications for

the choices being made by citizens, public officials, and workers in

 private organizations.”

The presence of an LDS political culture despite the Church’s clear intention of remaining politically neutral begs the question of how this culture came about. The fact is, social and moral issues tend to have political consequences despite efforts to prevent this. LDS doctrine teaches that there are certain moral laws that God holds which transcend popular opinion of the time and that we must defend. Inherently, defending these moral standpoints including standing against abortion and defending traditional marriage which leaders have been very vocal about will very likely include LDS members having to exercise political action. Consequently it is not too surprising data shows LDS members tend to lean towards Conservatism which typically supports such social viewpoints. Because many LDS members feel their faith and obedience to the gospel are the most important or some of the most important facets in their lives, a political identity has evolved that has a general support for doctrine taught on moral subjects.

The political theories of primordialism and constructivism seek to explain how this identity could have occurred. Primordialism emphasizes an identity that assumes that we are shaped by our early childhood psychology within our family or that we are simply born with our identities intact. Constructivism on the other hand emphasizes the changeability of political identities which evolve over time according to social context (Samuels 160).  Although the church is often something that people are “born into” or raised in, meaning they have a strong background of childhood ties to its beliefs, primordialism is not enough to explain the LDS political identity we see today. Since there is some variation within the LDS community in the United States this suggests that its political identity here is not an inborn quality or it would be more universally manifest. Additionally, constructivism allows for the change of political identity according to social context which is exactly what is seen with LDS political identity. The changing feelings of the times evoke specific counsel from prophets and leaders regarding social issues which over time seem to be becoming more pointed and could continue to be so. This would mean that the LDS political identity would become more rigidly set if such counsel required political action to defend these rights. Furthermore, the church does not specifically teach regarding the size of government or really any political measures other than moral issues which allows for a lot of interpretation on the part of individual members of the LDS church. Consequently there is plenty of room for a change in LDS political identity either to a stronger identity or one that is less cohesive. From this it can be concluded that constructivism is a more accurate explanation for the LDS political identity.

Works Cited

Oaks, Dallin H. "Protect the Children." LDS.org. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/protect-the-children?lang=eng>.

"Portrait and Demographics of United States Religious Affiliation." The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://religions.pewforum.org/portraits>.

Samuels, David J. "Political Identity." Comparative Politics. New York: Pearson Education, 2013. 153-170. Print.