The LDS Political Identity

Blog 5

            According to the Mormon Newsroom, under the topic “Political Neutrality,” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints “Expect its members to engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner, respecting the fact that members of the Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters,”¹ the church does not endorse any specific party or platform and encourages its members to make informed decisions. However, the LDS Church goes on to say that it “reserves the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.”¹ This signifies that although the Church affiliate with a specific party, it reserves the right to address issues that will directly affect the freedoms of the LDS church. A political identity is the “ways individuals categorize themselves and how they understand the power relationship of domination and oppression that exists between groups,”² or more specifically an identity hat shapes an individual’s political decisions especially when it is important to do so. As members of the LDS church, not one political party are candidate is supported over another, however through historical examples of when the LDS church directly came out against certain issues and the LDS church’s official current position on Religious freedom, that shapes the members idea of what to vote for, the LDS Church has a distinct political identity. It is also clear that the presence of that identity stems from the LDS church’s belief of what freedom should be and displays a clear constructivist formation of the identity because it shows that the ideas of the LDS church can be politicized, as it spans races and changes throughout time.                                                                                                                            In 1980, the United States Air Force developed plans to install and store over 200 missiles in 4,600 storage units, and as a result Beaver County, Utah became a candidate as the storage place. However, while local residents seemed irresolute, when the LDS Church, and more specifically the First Presidency of the Church, issued the statement that the MX project was not wanted in Utah, it was clear that the project would never become a reality.³ It is clear in this historical example, the LDS identity became politicized. When the First Presidency of the church issued the statement that the MX project was not wanted, the members of the church followed suit and as a result of the lack of support, the project was abandoned. This also shows that when the First Presidency of the Church adopted a decision they felt would inhibit the growth and freedom of the area, it encouraged other members of the Church to vote in the same way, hence an official position of the Church had become politicized. This also shows the constructivist formation of a political identity because even in a church where it states it is staunchly neutral, it became politicized when the rights of the community were in jeopardy.             The LDS Church’s position on religious freedom also shapes the way members vote, even in recent elections. In the Mormon Newsroom series titled “An Introduction to Religious Freedom Part 1” it states “Challenges to religious freedom are emerging from many sources. Emerging advocacy for gay rights threatens to abridge religious freedom in a number of ways. Changes in health care threaten the rights of those who hold certain moral convictions about human life. These and other developments are producing conflict and beginning to impose on religious organizations and people of conscience. They are threatening, for instance, to restrict how religious organizations can manage their employment and their property.” ⁴ Although this statement does not directly endorse one candidate over the next, this clearly states the position of the Church in political matters and shapes the way Mormons vote. This can easily be seen in Utah Data Points survey that showed 42% of Mormon democrats in Utah favor in this 2012 election the Republican candidate⁵. That is not say that the Democratic candidate seeks to inhibit the religious freedoms, however there is a clear association that as these issues released by the Church largely affect today’s members view of certain candidates. This shows the LDS Church’s political identity because in order for members to practice and the presence of the identity is supported by the beliefs of the LDS church; they are encouraged to vote a certain way in the upcoming election. This also contributes to the constructivist view of identity formation because while many people in the LDS Church come from a different background, they all gravitate towards the same political identity and ideals as stated by the Church.                                                                                                                                                   It is accustoming of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to remain distant from political affairs unless the issues threaten to run afoul of doctrine. However, as the Church in historical and present settings has issued statements that in turn have affected the way members vote, creating a political identity. The presence of the political identity derives from the beliefs of the LDS church and the member’s willingness to uphold them. This also argues in favor of constructivist political identity, because as members of the Church span nationalities and races, there political identities change towards the position of the church, which is particularly evident in the upcoming elections.

Notes

            1. Mormon Newsroom, “Political Neutrality,” accessed October 12, 2012, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/political-neutrality.

            2. 1. David J. Samuels, Comparative Politics, (Minneapolis: Pearson Education, Inc. ), 149.

            3. Utah History To Go, “The MX Missile Project,” accessed October 12, 2012, http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/themxmissileproject.html.

            4. Mormon Newsroom, “An Introduction to Religious Freedom: Part 1 in a Series on Religious Freedom,” accessed October 12, 2012, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/introduction-religious-freedom.

            5. Utah Data Points, “Do LDS Dems Like Mitt Romney,” accessed October 12, 2012, http://utahdatapoints.com/.