Mormon Political Identity? Duh!

                In the midst of this presidential election season, and in the middle of the “Mormon Moment”, the eyes of the nation have been turned to the LDS church. More closely examined than perhaps ever before, the Church, and its members, have become the subject of both praise and ridicule. With the Mitt Romney carrying the Republican nomination, many wonder how this will affect the Mormon vote in America. This blog will primarily answer the question “Is there a Mormon political identity?” Though one may jump to hasty conclusions, it deserves more careful scrutiny. We will also discuss the constructivist and primordialist arguments and see which has more bearing on this specific case. 

It has long been assumed that all Mormons are conservative, though this is not the case, it does represent an overwhelming majority. In a poll conducted by The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 66% of Mormons consider themselves conservative, whereas only 8% consider themselves liberal. Likewise, when asked to identify themselves in a party context, 74% identified themselves as Republican, or leaning Republican and only 17% did so respecting the Democratic Party. Those who identify themselves as Democrats find themselves members of a substantial minority. This poll also shows overwhelming majorities in support for Mitt Romney, smaller government, and views on moral/social issues; i.e. the morality of homosexuality, extramarital sex, consumption of alcohol, etc. (Pew, 2012). In short, not saying that devout members of the LDS church can’t adhere to a liberal ideology, but the clear majority of Mormons have a conservative ideology; The Mormon political identity on the whole leans conservative and towards the Republican Party.

Now which of the arguments, constructivist or primordialist, is represented best by this brief case study? Primordialism is the idea that “identities are something people are born with or that emerge through deep psychological processes in early childhood, given one’s family and community context” (Samuels, 153). On the other hand, the constructivist argument is 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, 153). Religion is a very intimate aspect of life, and it is infused, or not infused, best within familial ties. Those who are born and raised in a certain religion tend to adhere to that religion’s creeds, thus following a pattern set by those who have gone before. Politics seem to progress hand in hand with religion in this regard. Another interesting finding in this poll was that for Mormons who don’t live in the West, the number of Republicans goes down while the number of Democrats goes up (Pew, 2012). One possible theory is that, because of the moral standards and perspectives espoused by church members early in the Church’s history, the majority have maintained conservative standards, passing them down to their posterity. As the church spread out of the West, more of those that were converted, possibly already Democrats, maintained their political preference as their children maintain that of their parents. This could account for the increase, however small, of Democratic Mormons outside of the West. It is evident that the primordial argument is better represented in this case.

                Is there a Mormon political identity? Yes, there definitely is. It has clear tendencies to shift Mormons to a conservative rather than liberal ideology. This is apparently brought on by a set of values and ideologies passed down by the parents to their children, not necessarily changing the ideologies of converts. This is a great example of a primordialist identity.

References

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2013.

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Mormons in America: Politics, Society and Morality. 2012. http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/mormons-in-america-politics-society-and-morality.aspx (accessed October 11, 2012).