Blog 5: Political Identity

While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not “endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms,” (“Political Neutrality”) there is a distinct LDS political identity in the United States. Members of the Church in this country are generally thought to be conservative Republicans, a view supported by the fact that Mitt Romney, a Latter-day Saint, is running as the Republican presidential nominee. However, not all Mormons fit into this conservative stereotype. In recent years, Mormons have become more liberal and Democratic, showing that the current LDS political identity may not be totally accurate.

            Mormon political identity in the US can partially be explained using primordialism. According to David J. Samuels, primordialism is “an approach to understanding political identity which assumes that identities are something people are born with or that emerge through deep psychological processes early in childhood, given one’s family and community context” (Samuels 2013, 153). Such an approach works well with Mormons because family is one of most important aspects of the LDS Church. Children in LDS homes are exposed very early in life to the conservative values of the Church, and these values carry over into their political beliefs and choices later in life. Having grown up in an LDS family, I can clearly remember my parents voting for Republican leaders and supporting Republican policies, based on their similarity to our conservative standards. This, in turn, has caused me to think like a Republican and be more understanding of that party’s policies. Also, the LDS Church’s conservative views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage are greatly in line with the thinking of the Republican Party. This causes many Mormons to vote Republican in order to express their opinions on such controversial issues.

            Primordialsim, while very useful in explaining why many Mormons support the Republican Party, does not explain everything. If all Mormons teach the same conservative values to their children, then why are all Mormons not Republicans? Constructivism is “an approach to understanding identity which assumes that political identities are malleable, even if they often appear to be primordial, and suggests that we think of identity as an evolving political process rather than as a fixed set of identity categories” (Samuels 2013, 153). Such an approach can explain some of the questions that a primordial approach raises. Since 2004, support for gay marriage or allowing civil unions for gays has increased among Utah Mormons by 31% according to Utah Data Points (Patterson). Taking a constructivist approach, an observer would see this data as evidence that the Mormon political identity in the US is indeed malleable. While in 2004 the majority of Utah Mormons did not support gay marriage, in 2012 the majority did support civil unions or gay marriage (Patterson). This is a remarkable change to take place in a mere 8 years, and constructivism holds that such a change shows that Mormons can become more liberal in their thinking.

            Harry Reid, the US Senate Majority leader, is both a Democrat and a Mormon. He once said, “I am a Democrat because I am a Mormon, not in spite of it” (“Sen. Harry Reid”). While Mormonism supports many conservative values, not all Mormons have to be Republican, like Reid implies. Many Church members are beginning to realize this, as seen in growing support of gay marriage and civil unions among Mormons in Utah. While the LDS Church has a strong Republican identity right now, which seems very primordial, I believe that the Mormon political identity is evolving and will become more Democratic in the future.

Works Cited

Patterson, Kelly. “Public Opinion on Gay Marriage in Utah.” Utah Data Points. http://utahdatapoints.com/2012/07/public-opinion-on-gay-marriage-in-utah/ (accessed October 11, 2012).

“Political Neutrality.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/political-neutrality (accessed October 11, 2012).

Samuels, David. Comparative Politics. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. (accessed October 11, 2012).

“Sen. Harry Reid speaks of faith, family and public service.” Brigham Young University. http://news.byu.edu/archive07-Oct-reidspeech.aspx (accessed October 11, 2012).