US poll: One in six would not vote for Mormon president
by Jennifer Riley, Christian Today US Correspondent
Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007, 9:16 (GMT)
A poll conducted immediately following presidential contender Mitt Romney's faith speech last week found that about one out of six Americans still say they would not support their party's nominee if that person was a Mormon.
Seventeen per cent of Americans, including similar proportions of Republicans and Democrats, responded they were unwilling to vote for a Mormon presidential candidate even if the person was "generally well-qualified" for the position, according to The Gallup Poll released Tuesday.
The December 6-9 survey showed that Americans' opinions on voting for a Mormon candidate for president has changed little since this question was asked by Gallup in 1967.
Four decades ago when Romney's father - former Michigan Governor George Romney - was seeking the presidency, 17 per cent of Americans had also said they would not support a Mormon as their party's nominee for president.
Likewise in 1999, 17 per cent of respondents expressed unwillingness to vote for a Mormon for president.
But opposition to a Mormon presidential candidate has decreased since the beginning of this year.
In early February, before Romney first officially declared his candidacy, the percentage opposed to the party's nomination of a Mormon was 24 per cent. The statistic dropped to 19 per cent in March, after he entered the race.
An August Gallup poll, meanwhile, showed 22 per cent of Americans think being Mormon is an "undesirable" characteristic for the next president.
Last Thursday, Romney delivered a much-anticipated speech on "Faith in America", partly aiming to reassure evangelical voters who are suspicious of Mormonism. The speech, which he had put off giving for months, was also likely delivered in response to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's sudden lead in Iowa caucus polls. Romney had been leading in Iowa for months.
Although Romney may have cared more about his speech's impact on conservative Republicans, the latest Gallup poll shows that it had the same effect whether the listener was Republican or Democrat.
Even after the speech, the poll suggests attitudes have changed little despite the candidate's effort to address concerns on how Mormonism would affect his decisions as president.
Eighteen per cent of both groups say they would not vote for a Mormon, similar to the 20 per cent to 21 per cent who gave the same response in March.
A February 2007 Gallup poll, however, showed Republicans were more opposed to voting for a Mormon candidate. Thirty per cent of Republicans compared to 23 per cent of Democrats expressed opposition.
Gallup concluded: "Up to 14 per cent of Republicans have supported Romney for his party's nomination at various times since June 2007. Still, he clearly faces some anti-Mormon opposition to his candidacy within the Republican Party as well as among the general public."
The Gallup Poll also found additional biases potentially harmful to other candidates from both major parties. Four per cent of Americans (including 3 per cent Republicans) say they would not vote for a Catholic; 5 per cent would not vote for a black person; 12 per cent would not vote for a woman; and 12 per cent would not vote for a Hispanic.
In addition, in a Gallup poll earlier this year 28 per cent of Americans said they would not vote for someone who is on his third marriage, and 40 per cent would not vote for someone who is 72 years of age.
Results from the latest survey are based on telephone interviews conducted 6 - 9 December 2007, with 1,027 national adults, aged 18 and older.
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Added: Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 17:47 (GMT)
i think that mitt romney will make a good president and I think that people should repsect him for who he is. People need to stop making fun of his beliefs.
kyle Mclauchlin, Enterprise OR,USA
Added: Sunday, January 13, 2008, 2:28 (GMT)
All statements made in Mormon scriptures declaring that dark skin is the result of a curse of God; (“And he had caused the acursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity… the Lord God did cause a dskin of eblackness to come upon them.” Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:21,22,). HAVE NEVER BEEN REMOVED NOR RENOUNCED.
Presently, early Mormon theology is openly reaffirmed every Fast Sunday and on other occasions. Members of the Mormon faith stand and begin (or ends) the testimony with this statement “I know the (Mormon) church is true” and “I know Joseph Smith is the true prophet”.
The statement (“…all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color” June 9, 1978 press release to the Deseret News), IS INADEQUATE.
Combined, the statements articulate;
“YOU ARE STILL INFERIOR BUT YOU MAY HOLD THE PRIESTHOOD.”
Black skin as a curse was taught at BYU after the June 9th,1978 aforementioned statement. As of the 1984 Winter Semester at Brigham Young University, in the Genealogy 263 class, the instructor Brother Bloxham explained the curse to a student. The subject came up when Brother Bloxham was explaining the Mormon concept that a spirit in heaven selects the body to live within. A student asked “Why would a spirit select the body of a baby who was born to starvation in Africa?” Brother Bloxham gave the explanation of the curse. The same student asked “Why would a spirit choose the body of a white baby who is born addicted to crack?” Brother Bloxham’s answer was; “Poor choice”. I was a student in that class at the time Brother Bloxham made that above mentioned statements.
Mormon scriptures, (Pearl of Great Price-Book of Moses 7:8; Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:21,22, Alma 3:6, Mormon5:15) and many statements made by Mormon church presidents that Blacks are inferior STILL STANDS.
The foundation of Mormon theology (stating people of dark skin people are inferior), is not erased by as simple statement that blacks can now hold the priesthood. Stating that blacks can hold the priesthood does not equate and is immaterial to the Mormon scriptures and the Mormons racist beliefs.
Go to the below referenced website (Institute for Religious Research) for further information.
http://www.irr.org/mit/skin-color.html
I refuse to accept any defensive rationalizations. Until the scriptures are renounced and statements regarding people of color have been cursed by God is removed, I see Mormon theology as white supremacy.
veteranraver, Provo, Utah USA
Added: Friday, December 14, 2007, 12:14 (GMT)
It is unfortunate that anyone has aversions to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those who do, simply lack a full view and understanding of its doctrines.
Some may recall the reaction of their Junior High School biology class when their teacher brought out human organs preserved in formaldehyde. If you never had such an experience, try to imagine the reaction of these young nieve minds. Many different reactions took place in my class ranging from looks of disgust to shrieks and physical recoils. Now imagine the reaction of a trained surgeon as he views the organs of the body using his in-depth understanding of all of their intricate workings. Each part of the body, in its infinite scales, has its place and function with all required balancing properties working together.
When understood and viewed in its wholeness, the human body is undeniably a beautiful marvel. So it is with the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the official name of the Mormon Church). In the past 10 years, the church has received much publicity in the so-called main-stream media. I am disappointed, more often than not, in the way that the writers, columnists, broadcasters, and bloggers catch hold of a piece or two of doctrine that is unusual and unfamiliar to them and presumptuously talk about it in a disrespectful manner that encourages others to ridicule it. This closely resembles the seventh grader pointing at the strange looking pancreas on display and yelling, “yuck, stay away from that!” or the situation when an ignorant person mocks and dismisses a Van Gough painting for its unusual, outlandish colors and rough strokes. If people will try to understand Mormon beliefs by first learning the basic, core beliefs of the church as they would the fundamentals of biology or art, they would soon begin to appreciate the beauty of its message.
So, what is the basic, core message? Simply this, the Good News, or gospel, which is that Jesus is the Christ and He lives. He has overcome sin and death so that we may have joy and be made clean to return to our Father in Heaven. That's the basis of all the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's the foundation upon which all church doctrine is built. If the church were a tree, this belief is the root and trunk of the tree. There are many branches that are each important to the whole of the tree but they all stem from the same root. In many cases, people who are unfamiliar with the church catch a glimpse of one of the branches or a few leaves and take that to represent the entire tree. They take their small perspective and fallibly re-tell it to others and try to compare it to an entire tree somewhere else that they are more familiar with. It is no wonder people get the wrong idea about the “Mormon” church and even have invalid concerns.
Regrettably, there seems to be a vicious cycle in play when it comes to fears about this church. It is a natural reaction for people to fear things they don't know about. This is the premise of racism and bigotry. Members of this church often have a fear of sharing and teaching others about their beliefs. They fear being chastised or shunned because of the opposition caused by the unfounded fears of others. Many of the teachings of the church are unique. If there exists only one true church grounded in an absolute truth (as opposed to relative truth), it is going to be unique.
Anyone who approaches any subject with full skepticism and unbelief will only find subjects to support that attitude. We all would be better served to respectfully take in the wholeness of one’s beliefs and truly learn about them for ourselves before we begin to pass judgment on them, let alone preach a faulty view or half-truth to others.
Brent Roper, Sumter, SC
Added: Friday, December 14, 2007, 5:27 (GMT)
Excellent article.
Even better were 'caedmon's' comments.
Why do you think Romney is so reluctant to offer information or entertain questions about his Mormon beliefs?
The one thing I would add (to caedmon's comments) is that Mormons believe that God was once a man and that human beings (faithful Mormons) can literally become gods of their own planets. Wonder why Romney (a potential god) didn't mention this blasphemous notion in his 'Faith In America' speech.
Mike Frederickson, West Palm Beach, FL
Added: Thursday, December 13, 2007, 21:00 (GMT)
Mitt Romney insists that a candidate’s religious belief should not influence a voter’s decision regarding who to support for political office. Then he declares that his religious faith has formed his character, Americans want a President of faith and that religion has a rightful place in the arena of public influence. Romney has publicly stated that he is not a “cafeteria” Mormon who picks and chooses which doctrines he will accept. He placed the issue of faith on the table and the details are open to discussion.
When Romney went through the secret LDS temple endowment ceremony he would have taken the oath to observe the Law of Obedience and promised before God, angels and witnesses to “accept the Law of Consecration as contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.”
If Romney should be elected, would he view the US Presidency as something the Lord has blessed him with? Would he keep his sworn oath to consecrate that blessing to the LDS Church? Or is his recent speech a disavowal of the oath he made before God, angels, and witnesses?
The LDS church maintained a racist policy of denying full membership to blacks until 1978. The text of the Book of Mormon and other Mormon scripture equate righteousness with skin color. Romney was 31 years old at the time the Church lifted the ban which means that for a significant portion of his adult life he accepted his church’s teaching that blacks are inherently inferior. Does he still believe that he is more "valiant" or “worthy” than blacks by virtue of being born white?
If he didn't believe that people of color were inferior during his adult life before the ban was lifted, then why did he remain a member – tacitly supporting the ban and its doctrinal underpinnings? Did he counsel members to not accept this church teaching when he was a church missionary, bishop or stake president? He admitted in NY Times interview that he never questioned or protested this racist doctrine and the policy it supported. Why not?
While the church has changed its policy of prohibiting blacks from holding its priesthood, it has never renounced the doctrine that led to the ban in the first place. It has never disavowed or removed from the church cannon the scripture that the doctrine is based upon (i.e. Pearl of Great Price). It has never renounced or apologized for racist statements made by its leaders.
It is interesting to note that while nearly 30 years have passed since the ban was lifted, not a single black face appears in the upper echelons of Mormon church leadership.
As a full-time missionary for the LDS church, Romney would have repeated Joseph Smith’s claim that God himself had declared all other churches to be false, all an “abomination” before God and those who professed those creeds were “corrupt”. This story is repeated by every LDS missionary today.
Mormons perform proxy baptisms for the dead (usually without the permission or knowledge of the person’s living relatives) because they believe that you must be Mormon to enter the highest level of heaven. Mormons do not permit non-Mormon family and friends to be present at temple weddings; coercing couples into forcing the people who love them most to wait outside with broken hearts. Yet Romney wants us to accept his new found tolerance for all other religions?
The "no religious test shall ever be required" clause is often misinterpreted. It actually means that the government can't prevent someone from running or holding office based on their religious affiliation or views. A Nazi, KKK clansman or Islamic extremist can legally run for President. Individual voters are free to use their own judgment when deciding who to support. To respectfully question how a candidate’s religious views have or will influence his decisions is not necessarily religious intolerance.
caedmon, Lindon, UT
