I think I remember someone (ETB?) telling the church membership that they couldn't be a good mormon and be a democrat. I do not intend this to turn into a political discussion, but I would like to understand why that was put out there and why most of the members just fall in line with that thinking now????

I never was told outright but it seemed to be assumed. Very odd.

and I was a nevermo, that one of the first things his dad asked me was "You are a Republican, right?"

I have no evidence to support my opinion so if anyone can verify or falsify my comment, feel free.

Quite simply, I think it is because TBMs tend to be ultra-conservative and so, too, are typical Republicans.

Perhaps more important, Mormons are taught to submit to authority figures and Republicans it seems to me are authority oriented. (As opposed to Democrats who tend to be less so.) Perhaps that's a weak proposition but I think the last two years illustrate my point. Republicans fell in lock step behind the Party leadership in blocking everything the Democrats proposed. That's how they came by the monicre of "Party of No". But Democrats were fragmented in their opinions and independent in their thinking. They didn't always tow the line of Party leadership.

Mormons are indoctrinated to be sheep who blindly follow whomever. They are much less likely to be free-thinkers. The Republican Party "feels" more comfortable.

Finally, Republicans and, in particular, the Tea Party branch of the Party are evangelists for the "America is a Christian Nation" way of thinking. That's essentially Mormon doctrine.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it - unless someone has a better idea.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/125021/Mormons-Conservative-Major-Religious-Group.aspx

"Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, are the most conservative major religious group in the country, with 59% identifying as conservative, 31% as moderate, and 8% as liberal."

When I grew up in the 50s and 60s, this wasn't true.

I think they just embraced the whole marriage of politics and conservative Christianity that happened in the 80s.

Mormons were of course borderline socialist/communitarian back in the United Order days. There was pretty substantial political diversity well into the 20th century. FDR carried Utah. Even into the second half of the 20th century, people like Wayne Owens, Frank Moss, Cal Rampton, and Scott Matheson (Jim's father), won elections.

Not so much, any more. I get the feeling that things changed in the 1950s when people like ETB and Joseph Fielding Smith were running the church, and rising to top leadership positions. The liberal phase was in the 1940s and 1950s and early 60s under McKay, Brown, Tanner, Lowell Bennion, and earlier, people like BH Roberts, Talmadge, and others who were not, shall I say, like JFS.

The Civil Rights movement starting in the 1950s (Brown v Board of Education, 1954), and the civil liberties of the 1960s, the relaxing of many restirctions during the 1960s, most especially sexual restrictions, drove LDS Inc up the wall. LDS Inc is nothing if not authoritarian. Democrats were not authoritarian, but there was a wing of the Republican Party that became seriously authoritarian. The Mormon hierarchy liked that, and the sheeple followed.

Interestingly, the Tea Party movement does not seem to be particularly authoritarian. The religionist wing of the party has pretty much taken a back seat this last election. Things could well change again, but right now, right wing authoritarianism is not resonating the way it used to.

At least that's how it looks to me. I'm not sure how that will affect Mormonism. I do know that in the 1960s, when I came of age, Utah was perceived as conservative, and a little weird, but it was not perceived as the reddest of red states. (Nor was that terminology used then. Red used to be waaay bad. Better Dead than Red)

This was in 1974 when he had already been elected US Rep from Utah. But Jake Garn absolutely killed him in the Senate race, and it was considered not quite mormon to campaign for Owens (even though he was also mormon).

I think the percentage of mormons who are Republican is a lot higher now.

Same is true of republicans. Simple enough.

unbelievable bigot...

Wow. Have you actually seen a tea party meeting.

Sorry, but the bigots don't get to complain about others not being tolerant of them. Doesn't work that way.

On that basis, if you're really being honest with yourself, you know I;m right/

My ex husbands parents LOVED Bill Clinton. And I live in Texas. And his dad was a bishop, so I don't think all Mormons are Reps, just most of them.

fallenangelblue Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My ex husbands parents LOVED Bill Clinton. And I
> live in Texas. And his dad was a bishop, so I
> don't think all Mormons are Reps, just most of
> them.

My TBM mom was a Democrat and so were most of the Mormons in my home town.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2010 06:47PM by bona dea.

Its more for the economic reasons that morality/social reasons.

Being a capitalist at heart the republican economics make more sense to me. But since my new found free thinking abilities I have learned, I am much more openminded.

Riverman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Its more for the economic reasons that
> morality/social reasons.
>
> Being a capitalist at heart the republican
> economics make more sense to me. But since my new
> found free thinking abilities I have learned, I am
> much more openminded.

I'm a small government let me do my thing type guy so I steer away from the Democratic socialist agenda but I'm socially liberal and think the government has no place in telling us what to do with our bodies or who we can marry so I don't like the Republicans in this regard.

So basically, I don't fit in any party.

Libertarians are like that. They tend to believe in a small government that has no say in people's lives, and they're also economically conservative.

Dems tend to support the division of church and state and Mormons continuously try to get their doctrines enacted into local and state law. I would think the Repubs would be a problem too because of their aversion to government intrusion into ptivate lives.

it's government intrusion into the lives of gays who want to marry or women who wish to have an abortion. And those are just 2 examples. Republicans want "small government" all right. Small enough so it can find down your pants or in your uterus.

There's really no other reason.
It also seems that when Dems show a moderate to consevative slant, they are able to get mormon votes.

You can be sure that if the Republicans were to switch ideologies with the Democrats they would lose the Mormon voters.

My TBM ex-husband was a Democrat, and there were maybe a handful of other Democrats in his ward. I did notice that the majority of TBM's are Republican and tend to view Democrats in the ward as not being good Mormons.

Because the Mormons agree with the republicans on issues like gay marriage and abortion.

To torture myself, I guess, I keep tabs on the ward that I used to live in. It was always obvious that this ward, like most, was hardcore Republican. Now I see that the bishop's wife not only works for Republican campaigns but herself has obtained some extremely low level Republican local office AND gotten other women in the ward to take similar offices! Sometimes I see her on television as some kind of speaker for our county's Republican party. When Mitt Romney was running for president she went on tv saying that she was voting for him because he was "for strong families". I always want to ask her if her family has fallen to pieces with the advent of the Obama administration. Anyway, the Republicanism of Mormonism is deep. I think it used to be because of the abortion issue but now is about the gay rights issue. And sinister looking OLD WHITE MEN. Mormons and Republicans sure do seem to have that in common.

American Mormons mostly live in America's suburbs. Suburbanites tend to be Republicans.

Inner-city Mormons are probably more politically liberal with the exception of those in places like Salt Lake City. Of course, inner-city Mormons are very few in number.

I've often heard them bitching about taxes & social programs, so there's apparently something in their belief system that makes them think giving is actually wrong somehow.

You'd think that people who were really serious about following the example and teachings of Jesus would WANT to support social programs to serve the poor & disadvantaged, but they act like it's Satanic or something.

1.Mormons believe in smaller federal government...BUT OUT OF OUR BUSINESS.. So do Republicans.

2.Mormons want to be able to controlthe "moral" majority. So do Republicans.

3. The republicans interpret the separation of church and state, constitutionally, So do Mormons. liberal interpret the separation of church and state socially.

4.Liberals believe in "choice" when it comes to abortion. Republicans have adopted "pro Life" in order to capture the Vote of the "Moral Majority"..


END OF DISCUSSION!!!!


FYI>>>>> I am a true Libertarian!!!!!

I think it's not so much Democrat vs Republican as it is conservative vs liberal. The Church naturally supports whichever party fits best its agenda at present. Currently the Church is very conservative and so too is the Republican party. But this has not always been the case, either with the Church or the parties.

I think in the poligamy days the Church doctorine was best supported by a liberal mindset (my neibor is a polygamist, the other is gay, oh well, live and let live). At several points in its history, the Church was basically Communist (draw a diagram of that Glenn).

I'm certain that if the parties shifted stances and the Dems became conservative and the Repubs liberal the Church today would switch preferred parties.

Or if doctorine changes (again) to a more liberal stance and the parties remain a constant then a switch would also occur.

It's not the parties. It's just whichever party best matches God's unchanging doctrine this decade.

be in a compatible political party.

Mormon democrats make less sense to me. I think they're trying to convince themselves that they're smarter or a cut above other mormons as if that some kind of badge or honor. LOL

My cousin is a TBM and a Democrat but he's a union guy.

Of course technicly most Mormons are not Republicans because most Mormons live outside the U.S.

There are vocal Mormon Democrats like Senator Harry Reid of Nevada or this example:

http://www.fairblog.org/2008/02/01/i-am-a-democrat/

Like Brother of Jerry suggested in the New Deal era this wasn't always so.

However, even back then the LDS hierarchy tended to support the Republicans. But many of the rank and file were trying to survive and they voted with their labor unions rather than the "brethren." They were getting help from FDR--not the LDS welfare operation, and they knew it. LDS people went against Grant and voted to repeal prohibition, for example.

Since correlation started there has been a steady trend towards making Mormonism, and hence Mormons, a monolithic entity. I think that coupled with the Republicans' and LDS hierarchy's emphasis on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and pornography has lead to a situation where most members know how the brethren want them to vote--even if this is not explicitly stated.

As for the brethren, they probably just want the GOP in charge because they are in that top tax bracket.