Justin Porter

Dr. Hawkins

Political Science 150

12 October 2012

Blog 6

A common denotation of political identity is the “way that individuals categorize themselves and others, and how they understand the power relationships of domination and oppression that exist between groups” (Samuels 2013, 149). Political identity is important in defining us as human beings and is a major part of our cultural identity. Political identity is one of the most powerful unifying features of our culture. In the United States, we have a strong two party system of government. Many people believe quite strongly that they are accepted and that they relate to one of the two parties. Thus, a majority of the nation’s citizens are drawn to one of the two parties. The definition grows even more complicated when variables like religion are thrown into the mix. Do Latter-day Saints share a common political identity in the United States? I will show that even though a majority of Mormons are conservative, there isn’t a distinct political identity for LDS people throughout the entire United States.

            According to lecture with Professor Hawkins “identity is a subset of culture based on our ability to attach labels to ourselves and others” (Hawkins 2012). He furthered the book’s definition of political identity by stating that, “political identity is any identity that significantly shapes our political decisions, especially when it is the most important identity to do so” (Hawkins 2012). While members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do share a common cultural identity based on religion, the reach of this common identity does not apply to their political identity.
            According to the Pew Research Center, six-tenths of Mormons consider themselves conservative, three-tenths moderate, and the remaining one-tenth is liberal. However, when we compare these numbers to the numbers of Mormons who associate with one of the two main political parties in the United States we see a difference. According to this survey 65% of Latter-day Saints identify with the Republican Party. In turn, 22% identify themselves as Democrats. The remaining 13% do not affiliate with either party (Pew). To say that the Mormon political identity is republican would be a gross ecological fallacy, for we cannot make inferences about individuals from data taken of a larger group. We cannot generalize and say that because a majority of Latter-day Saints are conservative Republicans then that is the LDS identity.
            The primordialist argument “assumes political identities are innate and largely unchanging” (Samuels 2013, 153). This view of political identity teaches that political identity is largely inherited or learned early in life from our parents before we consciously make those decisions. It also states that since we don’t choose our perspectives that we also cannot change them. I don’t think that this view is valid when viewing the LDS political culture.
            Since 88% of Mormons believe that there are “absolute standards for right and wrong” then the constructionist view of political identity fits much better. This theory says that, “individuals have some choice over their political identities, but that such choice is constrained by the social context” (Samuels 2013, 153). Eighty-eight percent of Mormons believe that there is a strict moral code of rights and wrongs that exist in the world. So according to the primordialist view 88% of Mormons should belong to one political party or the other (Pew 2009). However, this is not so. According to the constructivist theory, each member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can choose for themselves which political party they wish to affiliate with based on which party best represents those values of right and wrong.
            There is not a national Mormon political identity. To say so would be to generalize all Mormons and confine us to one particular party. However, its plain to see in the data that Mormons follow a constructionist theory in allowing us to choose for ourselves which political identity we feel best represents us as free agents of our souls. We are free to choose for ourselves which identities we best relate to. And while a majority of Mormons relate to a conservative Republican ideology, there are many still that do not.

REFERENCES

Hawkins, Kirk A. 2012. Class Lecture. October 10.

Samuels, David J. 2013. Comparative politics. Boston: Pearson.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. 2009. A portrait of Mormons in the U.S.

http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/A-Portrait-of-Mormons-in-the-US--Social-and-Political-Views.aspx. (accessed October 11, 2012).