Stephen Lamb
"I'm a Democrat and I'm a Mormon," How Scandalous!
Introduction
In a recent ad campaign for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members of the church are
highlighted in short videos. In these videos they outline their family, work, and
hobbies and finish with short sound bites that say “and I’m a Mormon.” These
ads are used to show diversity and connection to non-Mormons (I'm a Mormon 2012) . Another particular group of Mormons
have wanted to show their connection to
non-Mormons in a different way. By showing their political diversity through sporting bumper stickers that read, “I’m voting for Obama and
I’m a Mormon.” These Mormons identify
themselves politically as Democrats. If you grew up in a Mormon community,
especially in Utah, you know that a bumper sticker like this is considered an
absolute scandal. But it’s just a bumper sticker, what has all those Mormons
worked up? This strange scandal can be explained through defining what
political identity is and understanding the political identity of the majority
of Mormons.
Political Identity
The Mormons that sport this bumper
sticker have a political identity of being Democrats, but what does political
identity really mean? According to “Comparative Politics” written by David J.
Samuels political identity is, “The
ways that individuals categorize themselves and others, and how they understand
the power relationships of domination and oppression that exist between groups”
(Samuels 2012) . In other words, these
particular Mormons categorize themselves as being of a certain political group
because their views on how power is distributed is aligned with this group.
The majority of Mormons, however, consider themselves to be part of a different
political identity as Republicans.
Republican Identity
According to recent data provided by researchers at Trinity College,
Mormons are twice as likely to vote Republican than non-Mormon Americans (Kosmin and Keysar 2008) . This shows a
very strong correlation with the Republican Party and Mormons. In order to
understand why most Mormons categorize themselves this way it is necessary to
consider the demographic background of Mormons and Republicans. Data from this
same report shows strong corresponding demographics between Mormons and
Republicans. The majority of both of these groups is white, educated with a
bachelors degree or more, and are wealthy earning $75,000 or more per year (Kosmin and Keysar 2008) . With
correlating majorities it can easily be seen why Mormons, generally, consider
themselves to have the political identity of being Republican. With such a deeply
corresponding identity between Republicans and Mormons it is easy to see why it
would be so scandalous for a Mormon to put a bumper sticker on their car that
reads, “I’m voting for Obama and I’m a Mormon.” Doing such a thing is
just not “Mormon.”
Although it can easily seen why
Mormons are predominately Republicans there is another question that needs to
be addressed. Is this political identity one that is constructivist or
primordial?
Constructivism is the idea that
these political identities are malleable and “suggests that identity is thought
of as an evolving political process rather than as a fixed set of identity
categories” (Samuels 2012) . Primordialism is the idea that political
identities, “emerge through deep psychological processes in early childhood,
given one’s family and community context” (Samuels 2012) .
Conclusion
According to correlating
characteristics between Mormons and Republicans it is understandable that some Mormons
would find it scandalous for a Mormon to vote for a Democrat. It is easy to see
why the bumper sticker is so controversial. This political identity may be both
predominately primordialist and somewhat constructivist in nature. One thing is
for sure, it would take an act of heaven for the majority of Mormons to vote
for a Democrat.
Works
Cited
I'm a Mormon. 2012.
http://mormon.org/people (accessed October 11, 2012).
Kosmin,
Barry A., and Ariela Keysar. "Mormons in the United States 1990-2008:
Socio-demographic Trends and Regional Differences ." Trinity College.
2008. http://commons.trincoll.edu/aris/files/2011/12/Mormons2008.pdf (accessed
October 11, 2012).
Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. New York: Cambridge Press,
2012.
Hopefully our culture can get to the point that this is not view as "scandalous." Its important to remember that LDS democrats and republicans tend to have the same goals, we just disagree about how best to accomplish them.
ReplyDeleteI think your title is very intriguing! You brought up a lot of great points and nailed it with your conclusion. I am among the majority of the church that intends to vote Republican this election not because I am a member and so is Mr. Romney but because the policies of the party cohere more closely to my personal believes. All members are able to have their own believes and vote how they please which why I hate to see judgement passed on members such as yourself who vote democratic.
ReplyDeleteInteresting paper. You were good at bringing it alive and brought up some interesting points and statistics. I also liked how you broke down the ways that the explanation for the political identity is primordialist and in what ways its constructivist. Good paper!
ReplyDeleteNicely organized blog! It was intriguing, and you presented solid evidence for your case!
ReplyDeleteI thought the conclusion was plausible because it drew on both arguments to explain characteristics of Mormons politically. I agree that the political identity will not be changing any time soon. Your blog was coherent and the use of statistics enhanced it, well done!
ReplyDeleteI think the Constructivist or Primordial arguement was a bit too over simplified in how people gain their beleifs in a real circumstance. However, given the information you provided, it was argued very well.
ReplyDeleteI loved the intro, it has great voice and the points you made were spot on. I loved how your evidence seemed really different than a lot of the other blogs. It helps give validity to your argument
ReplyDeleteWell written blog, I liked the organization as well as the ideas presented
ReplyDeleteI would argue that there is a lot more constructivist roots to a Mormon political identity seeing as nearly a quarter of members are converts and did not grow up necessarily with LDS influences. Furthermore, primordial caused identities tend to be less active and influential, such as a favorite sports team, where constructivist identities often shape a person's decisions and life choices. I know in my family we have chosen to live certain places because of the church or my parents have been influenced in choosing employments and I certainly was when choosing a school.
ReplyDeletegood blog, I liked how you presented it. I also appreciate your title and think that it is less scandalous than commonly thought. It might be scandalous to be mormon and a democrat in Utah/intermountain west, but overseas and in democratic areas of the country it is normal and practically expected. I think that regional/cultural identity has more bearing on political identity than religion.
ReplyDelete