Mormon Politics?

A common misconception of Mormon’s is that in the United States if you are LDS, then you are a conservative Republican. We will look to deconstruct this statement and take it a bit further in our investigation. We will begin with the official statement of their church, followed by data showing the kind of political response we find from the LDS members and finally where a political identity arises, if any.

 The truth of the matter is that not all Mormons are Republican, simply because of how culturally diverse the LDS Faith is and the political neutrality of the church itself. The only statement that could be found about the LDS faith’s political neutrality comes from a press release where they claim political neutrality but encourage each member to participate knowledgably and actively in the political process of their local and national governments.(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint’s newsroom, Political Neutrality) With this said , every few years or so the LDS church leaders have a statement read, to remind and encourage their members to participate politically, in their general sacrament meeting.                

 It is interesting to note however, according to the Pew Research Center ( a research group that poll and study religion and public life), that  74% of Mormons say that they lean towards the Republican Party for their political preference. The reason for this it may arise from a constructivist origin of this political identity. In other words according to David J Samuels in his book Comparartive Politics, this strong form of republican support may arise from the process of time and experimentation. Many United States LDS people see the Republican’s agenda as helpful and supportive of their own beliefs as had been proven over time. The LDS  people may not be united as a whole politically but they are still shaped by the choices they make individually, each person with their own political identity.

Works Cited

Political Neutrality, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Press release Newsroom 2012

Mormons in America, Pew Research Center, Janurary 12, 2012

                Comparative Politics, David J Samuels, Pearson 2013