Being Mormon: Does it matter in public eye?

Originally published Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 10:04 PM

While two likely candidates for the U.S. presidency are Mormon, indicating how widely accepted Mormons have become, some of the anti-Mormon responses to Michael Young's appointment as University of Washington president suggest a continuing wariness. That these two contradictory phenomena are occurring at the same time is likely a consequence of the church's incredible growth.

By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

Consider this: On the one hand, two names that keep coming up as serious candidates for the U.S. presidency are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who last week created a federal political-action committee to raise money for a possible campaign. Both happen to be Mormon.

On the other hand, many comments posted by readers in response to Seattle Times articles about new University of Washington President Michael Young — who is also Mormon — were so against that faith that a TV station and newspaper in Salt Lake City took note.

"Michael Young is now the target of vicious anti-Mormon slurs in the state of Washington," said a newscast from the ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered.

The first example would seem to indicate how mainstream and widely accepted Mormons have become in America, while the second suggests a continuing wariness — even hostility — toward Latter-day Saints.

That these two contradictory phenomena are occurring at the same time is likely a consequence of the church's incredible growth.

In less than 70 years, the number of Mormons has grown from less than a million to more than 6 million in the U.S. and 14 million worldwide. Their visibility and influence at all levels and walks of life have increased accordingly.

At the same time, many Americans remain unfamiliar with the basic tenets of this relatively new religious tradition and don't personally know any Mormons.

This combination seems to "make many people uncomfortable with the Latter-day Saints," said Jan Shipps, a history professor and leading expert on the LDS church.

History of persecution

The church was founded in the early 1800s by Joseph Smith, who said an angel revealed a set of golden plates containing a record of ancient inhabitants of the Americas who had come from Jerusalem, and with whom the resurrected Christ visited.

In the 19th century, Mormons were persecuted for their beliefs and were regarded by most Americans as a fringe group, especially for their practice of polygamy. They fled to Utah to practice their faith in peace.

But beginning about 1890, when the church banned polygamy, attitudes toward Mormons began to soften. During the Great Depression, many Americans saw Mormons as self-sufficient, and in the 1960s, many liked their clean-cut image, said Shipps, professor emeritus of history and religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

In the late 1970s and into the 1990s, as "Mormons were making converts hand over fist," competition began with evangelical Christians, who also were making converts, Shipps said. Evangelical Christians raised a question that lingers to this day about whether Mormons are Christian.

Mormons say they are, but many Christians disagree, saying Latter-day Saints essentially tagged on a new book to the Bible, the Book of Mormon. Mormons also hold a different view of the Trinity than that taught in Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches.

Attitudes swung again toward the positive with the successful 2002 Winter Olympics, hosted in Salt Lake City. It made "a Mormon venue look like the perfect American venue: mama and apple pie," Shipps said.

Still, church spokespeople acknowledge stereotypes about Mormons persist, including that they're secretive, uniformly conservative, live in Utah and are all white — the latter perception stemming in part from the fact that blacks were barred from the Mormon priesthood until 1978.

In reality, more than half the church's members these days live outside the U.S., including millions of members in Latin America. The church is growing fastest in Africa.

Faith and politics

In recent years, the church's support of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in California, has angered many on the left. So did the rise to prominence of provocateur Glenn Beck, a conservative commentator and a Mormon.

At the same time, many of the religious right still regard Mormons with suspicion.

Some say that perhaps there will be less questioning of Romney's — and Huntsman's — faith in this presidential campaign.

During Romney's last campaign, news commentators brought up his faith as his biggest challenge, said Shipps, the history professor. But this time they think he's most vulnerable on his record of health care in Massachusetts.

Certainly, it's not unusual for Mormons to hold high offices. There are more than a dozen Mormons — Republicans and Democrats — serving in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. A number of Washington state's lawmakers are Mormons.

Toby Nixon, a former state legislator, said the only time his religion came up during a campaign was when a former opponent made the incorrect assumption Nixon would be able to mobilize support from "armies of Mormon elders."

In reality, the church has a long-standing policy of neutrality on party politics (if not on political issues) and prohibits the use of church resources for or against any candidate.

Several local political consultants said being Mormon isn't an issue for political candidates here — and one consultant refused to even discuss the matter, saying, "It's the 21st century, woman!"

For University of Washington's Board of Regents, which named Young to the presidency April 25, his faith was of no concern.

"We had a candidate that was right for the job," Chairman Herb Simon said.

Polls show wariness

Still, church members expect the subject of faith to come up again in the U.S. presidential campaigns.

Polls show a fair number of Americans still are wary of Mormons.

Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed in an August 2010 Time magazine poll had a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Mormons. That's far higher than the 13 percent unfavorable ratings for Jews and Protestants, and 17 percent for Catholics.

Some Seattle Times commenters expressed that negative view in response to stories on Young's appointment.

"All Mormons support bigotry. Michael Young is a Mormon. So, Michael Young supports bigotry," one commenter said.

Church spokespeople said the comments were no more vitriolic than those responding to articles on, say, Muslims, Catholics, race or immigration.

"You do not get an accurate perception of anything by reading comments," said Michael Otterson, managing director of public affairs at the church's Salt Lake City headquarters. "I put those in the category of 'alien abductions' — they're so far out there."

He sees the increasing volume of such comments — as well as satires such as the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" by the creators of "South Park" — as stemming in part from the growth in numbers of Latter-day Saints.

The church acknowledges there are many stereotypes or misperceptions about Mormons.

And while those views are generally fading, some Americans seem unsure exactly what to make of Mormons.

Church research shows only one of four Americans has met a Mormon.

That's why the church launched an ad campaign in nine test cities last year that likely will expand this year. Called "I am a Mormon," the TV, newspaper, billboard and social-media ads feature everyday Mormons, and they direct viewers to a website where people can get answers to frequently asked questions and connect directly with a Mormon.

The church is seizing on a moment when its growth and the public spotlight seem to be converging.

"A lot of people believe that it's all working together to create a sort of condition where conversations about Mormons are likely to happen," Otterson said. "In that sense, maybe we have arrived at a 'Mormon moment.' "

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