A Political Portrait of Mormons: More Republican/Conservative Than Evangelicals

"It's still growing fast enough to necessitate the building of a new chapel every working day."

One of those General Conference lines that might sound impressive to members who lack the ability or inclination to determine what useful information is (or isn't) contained in the isolated stat "one new chapel per working day" ...

In any case, "growing fast enough" and "fast-growing" are two different descriptions. My objection was to the original poster's use of the latter.

Chino Blanco 5:55AM July 29, 2009

Also of interest, Harry Reid, one of the nations leading democrats, is LDS. So you can have it both ways!

bl of MO 7:34PM July 28, 2009

In the 19th century, the radical Republicans, after they had finished beating up on the South over the Civil War, made Mormons their new enemy of choice, removing the civil rights of Mormons until the LDS Church renounced polygamy. When Utah was finally admitted to statehood in 1896 (it had had enough population to become a state since 1852), the all-Mormon Peoples Party was disbanded and LDS Church leaders encouraged members to join the national political parties. The largely agrarian Mormons were more naturally attracted to the Democratic Party, and the Republican-led persecution did not endear that party to the Mormons. However, some Mormons did sign up to be Republican on the theory that it was in the best interest of Utahns to have the national parties vying for their votes to elect members of the House and Senate who would help each party's programs.

There were prominent Church leaders openly affiliated with both major parties in Utah into the 1970s. Ezra Taft Benson, of course, was Secretary of Agriculture for Eisenhower, while Oscar McConkie, head of the Church's outside law firm, was a Democrat and Speaker of the state House of Representatives, followed by his son in the same capacities. McConkie's other son, Bruce, became an apostle.

As the national Democratic Party in 1972 repudiated the moderate Democrats like Scoop Jackson, it took positions critical of the military and supportive of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision on abortion, and came to alienate many Democrats in Utah, just as many Southern Democrats were alienated for the same reasons. In pursuit of a left wing agenda, the Democratic Party shucked off many of its long-time constituencies. The Republican Party learned it could differentiate itself in the political marketplace by embracing a more conservative stance on the same issues where Democrats were moving leftward.

Utah still elects a Democrat to the House from the more liberal areas in Salt Lake City, and Democrats have been elected governor several times. Indeed, Jon Huntsman, Republican governor recently appointed Obama's ambassador to China, was actually a pretty moderate Republican, who has taken stands popular with Democrats, such as support for domestic partnership laws for gay couples.

If Bill Clinton had not indulged in moral terpitude with an intern, and lied about it, he could have been reasonably popular as a moderate Democrat among Utahns. As much as anything, it is the anti-religious bias of prominent Democrats that keeps most Mormons away from the Democratic Party these days. If there were a third party that was more moderate, but still pro-life and pro-strong national defense, it could many Mormons away from the Republicans.

It would be interesting to compare the history of the transformation of Mormons into a Republican constituency with the transformation of blacks from Republicans, grateful for the end of slavery and the Civil War Amendments, into Democrats.

Raymond Takashi Swenson of WA 3:24PM July 28, 2009

"Everything you need to know about the Mormons you will find in any account of the Mountain Meadows Massacre."

Everything you need to know about the [Pick any group that has ever existed] you will find in any account of the [past mistake that is now clearly denounced and repudiated]

for example:

Christianity and the Crusades

Planned Parenthood and the racial cleansing

Southern Democrats and slavery

If you look for the worst in others you will find it, if you look for the best you will find it too.

UmYeah of CO 11:53AM July 28, 2009