Mormon and Political Identity

Blog 5: Political Identity

                Human beings sometimes identify with irrational things. We feel loyalty to causes that we cannot logically justify and we take sides on debates sometimes based off of relatively meaningless attributes. Despite the irrationality and occasional ridiculousness of it all, those feelings of identity are nonetheless real and powerful.

                When we identify with something to the point that it prompts us to make choices with political implications, it becomes part of our political identity (Samuels, 149). When this truth is thought of within the context of the LDS church, it begs the following questions: is there a political identity specific to the LDS community? And if there is, where does it come from?

                I argue that by and large there is a specific political identity associated with being LDS. Correct or not, that identity is that “to be a good Mormon you must also be a republican.” The reasons for this identity are both constructed and primordial. It is constructed because many well-meaning LDS members rush to conclusions as they interpret church doctrine. This undoubtedly is based off the fact that with controversial issues such as abortion and gay marriage, the LDS church and the Republican party more or less agree (pro-life and pro traditional family).

Simple (sometimes to a fault) logic then states that to be a good member of the church you must also be republican. This is a constructed, non-inherent political identity that is assigned to Mormons. It is constructed because it is not necessarily something that is inherited. This is an identity that is assigned by those in the church and outside of it, and its assignment is not based on the objective reality. Neither does it take into account the many other factors which come into play when deciding who to vote for public office. With issues like healthcare, immigration, and other social services, the party lines are clear but the LDS church’s position is not. Members are encouraged to do their own research, then to make their own decisions.

                While much of the political identity for Mormons is constructed, some of it is also primordial in nature. In other words, much of it is learned and taught and culturally inherited at a very young age. This is because the culture of the church seems to lend itself to a more republican persuasion. The demographic of the church in the U.S. (mostly white, middle class) is also the demographic that makes up the majority of the Republican Party. The ideas of more personal responsibility and accountability are esteemed in the church and in the GOP. By and large, members of the church feel that the government should have a more limited influence in their personal lives, an idea that is certainly supported in the GOP.

                It is clear that while the identity of the church seems to be largely republican, one can be a devout member while being a member of either political party. While political ideologies may separate members of the church, there still seems to be a sense of belonging to a church and then a party. For example, over 40% of all Democrats in Utah believe that Governor Mitt Romney’s candidacy for president is a good thing for the church (Monson).  While they have differing opinions, both democratic and republican Mormons feel a sense of belonging to something greater than a political party. This is meaningful because it shows that while the political identity of LDS members is a compelling force in their lives, it is not the most powerful. Mormons care more about the church than they do about their party.

REFERENCES

Little, Daniel. 1991. Varieties of social explanation: An introduction to the philosophy of social

science. Oxford: Westview Press.

Monson, Quin. 2012. Do LDS Dems like Mitt Romney? http://utahdatapoints.com/  (accessed

October 11, 2012).          

Samuels, David J. 2013. Comparative politics. New York, NY: Pearson.