The Mormon Political Identity

            With a Mormon candidate for president, politics and the LDS church have never been brought so close together. Does religion affect political tendencies? Although there are exceptions and the church does not endorse any political party, there is a distinct LDS political identity in the United States. Members of the LDS church tend to have more conservative views, and there are generally more republicans within the church.

            Political identity is the way people categorize themselves and how they understand power relationships between groups (Samuels). There are several factors to be considered when examining the LDS political identity in the United States. The church’s view on politics is as such; “While the Church is politically neutral, Mormons are encouraged to participate in the political process where they live.” (What Role Do Politics Play in the Lives of Mormons?") However, most Mormons tend to be more conservative and republican; this can in part be explained by shared values of church members. Typically Mormons emphasize family, are concerned with their community, and hold to more traditional values. Shared beliefs and values can result in a common political identity. Generally conservatives also hold to traditional values similar to Mormon values.

            The idea that similar values in Mormonism helps to form a political identity can be supported by both primordialism and constructivism. However, I feel conservatism more accurately explains the identity. Primordialism is “an approach to understanding identity which assumes that identities are something people are born with or emerge through a psychological process at an early age.” (Samuels) Using the primodialst theory one could explain that most Mormons are raised with conservative values and beliefs in their home, they are born into it and have those beliefs engrained in their minds. These values obtained at a young age explain their political identity of more conservative and republican. Constructivism is “an approach to understanding identity which assumes political identifies are malleable and identity is an evolving political process.” (Samuels) Constructivism helps explain how anything can be politicized including religion. Constructivism can explain how a convert might adopt Mormon values, and change their political identity as their values change. Constructivism also helps to explain the outliers, such as liberal democrat Mormons. While the majority of Mormons are Republican, there are plenty of outliers, who hold the same values and beliefs as Mormons; however they have a different political identity.

            According to a survey of more than 1,000 Mormons across the nation conducted by the Pew Research  Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life “The majority of U.S. Mormons, 66 percent, describe their ideology as conservative, while 22 percent identify themselves as moderate and 8 percent as liberal.” (POLITICO) In support to this, 74 percent of registered Mormons are Republican and only 17 percent are Democrats (POLITICO). These numbers show that there is indeed a Mormon political identity. Shared conservative values are one possible cause for this political identity. A well-known example of this would be Mormon views regarding proposition 8 and Gay marriage in general. It is taught in the LDS church that “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.” (The Family)

Many members of the LDS church tend to agree with this, what would be considered “conservative view” and would vote more conservative on the issue. Another cause for the Mormon political identity may be loyalty and awareness of Mormon culture. According to Utah Data Points “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%).” They go on to explain that this is most likely the result that Mormon democrats share religious experience with Mitt Romney.” (Monson)

            There is a Mormon Political Identity, although the church does not endorse political views, and there are certainly outliers; Mormons tend to be conservative and republican. This identity may be explained by shared values or loyalty to Mormon culture, regardless of the cause there is a distinct political identity.

Works Cited

"The Family." : A Proclamation to the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng>.

Monson, Quin. "Utah Data Points." Utah Data Points. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://utahdatapoints.com/>.

"POLITICO." POLITICO. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71362.html>.

Samuels, David. Comparative Politics. New York: Pearson Education, 2013. Print.

"What Role Do Politics Play in the Lives of Mormons?" What Role Do Politics Play in the Lives of Mormons? N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mormontopics.org/eng/politics?CID=30002>.