Pro-Perry Pastor Blasts Romney, Calls Mormonism a 'Cult'

Mormonophia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Mormonism and Mormons. The term is new and is yet to come into common usage but is gathering currency with the candidacy of Mitt Romney for the presidency of the United States. According to some sources, the foundation of the term can be traced to a book entitled Under the Banner of Heaven, by best-selling author Jon Krakauer, first published in July 2003.

Mormonophia, like almost all religious phobias, is defined as the dread or fear of Mormonism and therefore, to the prejudice against and dislike of all Mormons. As with most sociological phobias, it also refers to the practice of discriminating against a particular group and seeking to incite prejudice against them and exclude them from the economic, social, and public life of the nation. It includes the advocacy by some that Mormonism has no values in common with dominant Christian religions, is inferior to the traditional forms of Christianity and is ill-legitimate, without proper Christian foundation and more properly characterized as a political ideology rather than a religion.

A perceived trend of growing media focus on the "Mormon Issue" is attributed by some to an increasing perception of Mitt Romney as the frontrunner as the Republican candidate most likely to defeat Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. For example, Robert Jeffress, a controversial Baptist pastor from Texas, who endorsed Governor Rick Perry and introduced him at the Values Voter Summit on October 17, 2011, claimed that one of the reasons he's opposed to Gov. Mitt Romney is because Mormonism is a "cult,"

Others, more politically/conspiratorially oriented, associate the congealing of the term mormonophia with the strategy and tactics of the Obama Re-election Committee and the National Democratic Party, especially the “progressive wing” of the National Democratic Party, who see Romney as the greatest threat to the re-election of Obama.

Jim Scott of CA 11:46PM October 20, 2011