Many people are often surprised when
I inform them that I am both a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) and a Democrat. Many assume that it is a requirement for
Mormon’s to be Republicans as part of the Religion. The Church’s officials statement is one of
neutrality, stating that the Church does not, “Endorse, promote or oppose
political parties, candidates or platforms.”[1] The Church does encourage civil participation
in politics and does speak out on moral issues such as gay marriage and
Proposition 8 in California. Mormons themselves however don’t feel that it
is a requirement to be Republican and be a good member of the church. In the results of a poll done by the Utah Colleges Exit poll in the 48
and 63 districts, when asked if a person can be a good Mormon and a Democrat
over 80 percent said yes, with the exception of Less active
republicans who agreed 79 percent of the time.[2]
Nonetheless many people associate Mormons with
Republicans, especially with Governor Romney running for president on the
Republican Ticket. One of the reasons for
this is the overwhelming number of Mormons, especially in Utah who vote Republican. According to a national survey done by the
Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in January of this year, 66 percent of
Mormons considered themselves political conservatives, and 74 percent polled
considered themselves Republican leaning. The survey interviewed 1,019 Mormons,
age 18 or older over the phone. One argument
for these results is the Primordial view of political identity. Primordialism assumes that “identities are
something that emerge through deep psychological processes in early childhood,
given one’s family and community context.”
Considering that for many years the Mormon community resided almost
entirely in Utah and the West, as a whole, Mormon society was insulated and
grew with deep rooted traditions. Many
people vote the same way their parents do unless they change their ideas in
college often due to social connections.
It makes sense that if all the social connections of a young Mormon boy
or girl are other Mormons who grew up with the same conservative teachings by
their parents they would remain conservative Republicans.
Despite the fact that the church
does not promote a political party, and Mormon’s themselves don’t believe it a
requirement to be of one party or the other, the facts are that Mormon’s tend
to vote Republican 60 percent of the time here in Utah. In a poll done in June of this year when
asked if House elections were being held that day, would the vote for the
Democratic or the Republican candidate, 60 percent said the Republican Party’s
candidate.[3]
Primordial based identities or
those that are ingrained in us from a young age are hard to get rid of. I grew up in California where everyone I knew
was a democrat. Despite being LDS and
having conservative moral values, I was taught, before I knew what they meant,
that the Democrats were right and the Republicans wrong. Similarly in Utah I have heard members of the
church call the democrats the devils party and compare Obama with Hitler and
Stalin. Political identities are deeply
ingrained and often exist regardless of reason or facts. Whether you like it or not, Mormons are
viewed as Republicans nationally and usually vote accordingly.
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