No politics. Just curious if people completely switched ideologies once they left. I know some people are who they are even when they're "religious." My cousin is really religious while being an avid supporter of gay rights, for example. My grandmother really follows the Bible and loves people for who they are, even a gay relative with no reservations. She doesn't pass judgments on people at all (truly). I'd imagine she'd be a liberal with or without being a Southern Baptist.

Or did leaving the cult behind cause you to reevaluate your past beliefs? If so, what beliefs do you no longer hold?

I never left a religion, but I remember when I went and lived with my vegan uncle and aunt for two months as a kid, I no longer liked sushi and have loathed milk since I returned home that summer before school. I know my example is food, but still - a new experience changes your mind-frame.

My guess is that with the denunciation of mormondom, a lot of people might have become more liberal?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 01:44AM by newcomer.

My political beliefs were one of the reasons why I left. It is hard to be a liberal and a Mormon

bona dea Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My political beliefs were one of the reasons why I
> left. It is hard to be a liberal and a Mormon


Not according to Harry Reid. He says he's liberal because he's mormon, especially on the charity part.

But I catch your drift.

I never felt like I fit in politically in the Morg. I haven't changed since walking away.

I do know liberal Mormons, but when I was in the church it seems like we never agreed on anything political. If they were for it, I was against it and vice versa. There were other reasons why I left though. My mother was both a liberal Democrat and a TBM and it worked for her, but then she liked the church, I didn't.

I used to be strong republican.

Now I'm a fiscally conservative social liberal, but I despise pork and unnecesssary entitlements. I

I don't really fit into any party.

I used to be strong democrat.

Now I'm a fiscally conservative social liberal, but I despise pork and unnecesssary entitlements. I

I don't really fit into any party either.

I went from extreme conservative, both fiscal & conservative, (and was even a conspiracy nut), to extreme liberal, both fiscal & conservative.

It wasn't a sudden thing but a very gradual process (as my leaving the Mormonism was).

As for religion, from Mormon to Agnostic Atheist.

Ex-CultMember Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I went from extreme conservative, both fiscal &
> conservative, (and was even a conspiracy nut), to
> extreme liberal, both fiscal & conservative.
>
> It wasn't a sudden thing but a very gradual
> process (as my leaving the Mormonism was).
>
> As for religion, from Mormon to Agnostic Atheist.


Whoa, what I meant to say was,

I went from extreme conservative, both fiscally & socially, (and was even a conspiracy nut), to extreme liberal, both fiscally & socially.

It wasn't a sudden thing but a very gradual process (as my leaving Mormonism was).

As for religion, went from Mormon to Agnostic Atheist.

Interesting mix here.

I've always been pretty libertarian on social issues and small government/classical liberal for the rest. But the LDS interference in the Prop 8 thing really bothered me.

Leaving the church didn't so much affect how I looked at politics, but some of the politics of TSCC certainly has had an impact on my view of the church.

Isn't a liberal Mormon a dichotomy? Anyway, I have always been pretty liberal. I left the church years ago. Even when I was last active I was in high school, so I didn't know anything.

When I was a member I used to describe myself as a conservative republican... Now, I'm far more liberal...

As a member I had a hard time with politics because, I felt one way in my head, but thought that "god" wanted me to do something else. Gay rights is a great example. I always had a hard time with the conservative view of Gay marriage... How could someone else's marriage impact my marriage, or anyone else's for that matter, but "God said it was evil" so it setup a conflict in my head. Sadly, at the time, I was more worried about my "eternal soul" then people's basic rights.

That's all changed now. I'm far more liberal and happy to be that way. Things are clearer and I find that I'm no longer stuck with an internal conflict.

It's funny now, when my parents call, I avoid political discussions like the plague... They are avid Rush Limbuagh listeners and they hang on his every word... I can't stand it...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 12:08AM by finallyfree.

I'm not a political party member, but I don't vote for candidates who actively reject the idea of helping others.

I was raised mostly Christian with a few Mormon years. My parents didn't agree on religion, but they both did believe that our lives are failures if we never do anything to help our fellow man (or woman) as we are able.

I'm all for personal responsibility, but there will come a day for each of us when we CAN'T meet our own needs, and I think that a strong, healthy society needs a safety net for those people and those situations.

Conservative candidates lose my vote when they claim that their theocratic social utopia dreams are more important than educating our children or feeding the hungry. Jesus said a few things about sharing our wealth. He didn't say a thing about gay marriage.

Coincidentaly, W. was running for President at the same time. Either way, I pretty much HAD to change parties.

I could see how some may change their belief in a political party once they leave Mormonism. But that is really like saying all Repubs and all Dems think alike....just not true. I would never register to vote because my church told me to choose a particular party. If Mormons did that they have their own selves to blame. A voting booth is one place they could share their belief in something in private. In fact it is one way all Utah Mormons could slap the idiots in the face with a vote that would shock them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 01:28AM by honestone.

Wow. I was raised in the Episcopal Church. They are liberal. I am a liberal, have always been a liberal, and will always be a liberal. However, I am no longer an Episcopalian.

I went from being a political skeptic, to being a political cynic...
I don't recall whether that was around the same time I left the church.

I officially changed my political party affiliation.

JackMo hubby about blew a gasket when he found out who I voted for in the last presidential election. It was so volitile we had to watch election returns in separate rooms. No lie.

;o)

Raised in an allwhite community who all were in the same two wards, with alarmist John Bircher lovin' parents.

Went through life with a very conservative unforgiving view for a long time, until my boss who pointed out that we speak like conservatives but live like liberals. That really struck a nerve because it was completely true. I've also spent time living in missions with peoplewho were genuinely desperate, and lived around a lot of different racial groups and developed a very liberal attitude. Being raised a racist, I had some very strong and unfortunate opinions. One time when I was at a friends house (while I was still inactive) I was spouting off something, and my friend under the influence of natures herb, rambled off something so profound that I began to see the error of my ways.

Anyway, fast forwarding to church life, I was a liberal playing the TBM conservative life. Teaching lessons I didn't personally agree with, and playing devils advocate at times. It just didn't make sense that charity and love of neighbor was confined to the ward, or used as a missionary tool in the community. It was the US Father / Son presidencies that stripped away what ever loyalty I had to the R party, but not enough to vote D exclusively.

It is kinda funny when you think about it...Jesus was a liberal by todays standards, the Book of Mormon teaches ideas that would appear liberal, and while the church professes to embrace these three, they are hardcore conservatives.

My parents think I've turned commie pinko or something, but once you live in the real world, there is a lot that needs fixing that can't be fixed by waving flags in the air.

I always try to show my Mormon friend how foolish he is for voting conservative as he's 1) gay, 2) so scared of war he got a deferment for enrolling at a community college taking bogus courses after getting his master's at BYU and 3)his acceptance of unemployment benefits as he complains government does too many things wrong (except cutting him checks).

Somehow too, he's against universal health care. I think he'd be humbled if an HMO cut off his family's coverage. I guess he can't feel for people unless he experiences their problems - how Jesus like.

JoD3:360 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Raised in an allwhite community who all were in
> the same two wards, with alarmist John Bircher
> lovin' parents.
>
> Went through life with a very conservative
> unforgiving view for a long time, until my boss
> who pointed out that we speak like conservatives
> but live like liberals. That really struck a nerve
> because it was completely true. I've also spent
> time living in missions with peoplewho were
> genuinely desperate, and lived around a lot of
> different racial groups and developed a very
> liberal attitude. Being raised a racist, I had
> some very strong and unfortunate opinions. One
> time when I was at a friends house (while I was
> still inactive) I was spouting off something, and
> my friend under the influence of natures herb,
> rambled off something so profound that I began to
> see the error of my ways.
>
> Anyway, fast forwarding to church life, I was a
> liberal playing the TBM conservative life.
> Teaching lessons I didn't personally agree with,
> and playing devils advocate at times. It just
> didn't make sense that charity and love of
> neighbor was confined to the ward, or used as a
> missionary tool in the community. It was the US
> Father / Son presidencies that stripped away what
> ever loyalty I had to the R party, but not enough
> to vote D exclusively.
>
> It is kinda funny when you think about it...Jesus
> was a liberal by todays standards, the Book of
> Mormon teaches ideas that would appear liberal,
> and while the church professes to embrace these
> three, they are hardcore conservatives.
>
> My parents think I've turned commie pinko or
> something, but once you live in the real world,
> there is a lot that needs fixing that can't be
> fixed by waving flags in the air.

I grew up conservative, but the older I got, the more I realized my conservatism was more "palaeo-liberalism" than the reactionary neo-con stuff that fires the Republican party. I had a hard time trusting corporations and parties before I discovered that the church was a fraud. Now I trust them (all of them) even less. All of them (Democrats, Republicans, Microsoft, Walmart, Wall Street, etc.) say what they think you want to hear so that they can get their hands on your stuff and use it to keep themselves fat and happy with minimal positive output.

These days, I am registered as "unaffiliated" and I consider myself a libertarian (small l, though I occasionally support candidates put forward by the party, even though they never win). I believe in people instead of parties, ethics instead of religion, production (and self-sufficiency) instead of profit.

It may seem heresy, but I only vote for those individuals running for office for whom I have a good handle on their platform. I don't vote along party lines, never have. I do, however, have a propensity to vote for women judges. I'm sure you have exceptions out the wahzoo to cite, but my experience is that women judges are more fair handed.

Ron

requires me to believe in a prescribed way - religious or political. I use to be pretty conservative Republican but now would consider myself more Libertarian. Fiscal conservative but socially progressive. I hate government interference.

The last straw for me was being told how to vote from the pulpit. When the bishop's wife got up and told us all the horrors that would ensue if the Equal Rights Amendment passed I got up and left and haven't been back since.

however after deconstructing God, religion, TSCC, social mores, etc. I found where I belonged on the political spectrum. Before then I would limp-wristedly affirm whatever conservative candidate my parents liked, but I didn't really care at the time.

No more Andrew Jackson!!! No more Andrew Jackson!!!

My dad was very liberal. Very. Don't know how he is still a mormon, but that's a different subject. Mom is Mormon conservative-tows the religious line. I took after my dad. I went to BYU a democrat (really a socialist), pro-choice, not- anti-gay, etc. I attended a young democrat BYU club once. There were 8 people.

My politics always made me an outsider and always made me wonder what was wrong with me, but what I believed made sense to me so I kept with it and held out an admitedly far hope that other mormons thought the same way. I was wrong except for my husband. We joke that we had to marry each other because we were the only democratic mormons we knew. But the first time I had to tell tell I was liberal and pro-choice and that my best guy friend since the 5th grade was gay and I didn't care was a very scary moment because I really liked him. I can't describe the euphoria both of us felt when he said he believed the same!!!! It was "This is the ONE" moment and time has shown that we were right. 12 years and counting.

When I left the guilt went away. I am not crazy and I don't need to feel bad for having the political affiliations. Freedom.

Then voted democratic all the time after leaving but this time around, I'm leaning libertarian cause the spending has to be stopped. I hate Glenn Beck as much as I hate Joseph Smith and Brigham Young however. I'm a mess cause I really don't fit in with any group politically cause I distrust too many of the people running from the GoP debates.