Monday, January 23, 2012

Religion Matters: Americans not ready for a Mormon President

By now, I think we’ve all noticed how diverse the Mormon community is.  Billboards, commercials, even bus signs have been showing the faces of every ethnicity you can think of in an effort to present a new image of the Mormon Church.  CNN’s Belief Blog covered the church’s campaign in their article "With 'I'm a Mormon' campaign, church counters lily white image."  The article points out that all the billboards and commercials are the result of a marketing strategy of the LDS Church to diversify their public image.  “Since January, the LDS Church has spent millions on an ‘I’m a Mormon’ advertising campaign that features television commercials, billboards and bus signs with Mormons from African-American, Asian, Latino and other ethnic backgrounds.  Just last month, the campaign entered 11 new major media markets in Texas, Indiana, Nebraska, Washington, Georgia, Arizona hitting cities like Atlanta, Denver and Phoenix.”  This campaign is an effort to get rid of the common perception of the Mormon community as one that is predominately white.  So what does all this have to do with politics or law for that matter?  It matters because the Mormons’ diversity campaign couldn’t have come at a better time for GOP primary candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, both of which are Mormon.  While the Mormon Church claims to be avoiding politics by not advertising in Iowa, South Carolina, or Florida, the campaign’s efforts may have had an unintended effect on the Presidential election.  In an election year where it seems that religion does matter as voters choose their candidate, the Mormon campaign could have open the eyes of Americans to the possibility of the first non-Protestant Christian President. 
In the past, Mormon’s have faced much criticism from within the Christian community, facing accusations that they are not legitimate members of the Christian faith.  Even within the larger context of American public opinion, Mormon’s are often seen as not a part of mainstream society and according to a poll cited in CNN's article "Survey:  Mormon's feel discrimination, hope," half of all Mormon’s said they have faced discrimination.  The same survey reported that 56% of Americans believe that the country is ready for a Mormon President.  However, 63% of American’s are beginning to see Mormons as part of mainstream society.  With 44% of the population still not open to the election of a Mormon President, it is clear that in this election and in politics in general, religion matters.  Although not all Americans are open to the possibility of a Mormon President, the Church’s efforts to diversify their image may have contributed to the increasingly open mind that Americans have towards the Mormon Church.   While it would seem that the religious affiliation of our Presidential hopefuls should be left out of their political platform, the reality is that whether or not their religious beliefs bleed into their political position, the American public takes religious affiliation seriously when considering their vote. 






5 comments:

Charlesha L. said...

I agree with this fact that American politics and present presidential elections has come to acknowledge that religion is important and that voters do care about such information when deciding on who to vote for. The appearance of religion in the public eye has drastically made it easier for Mormon leaders to transition and be accepted in politics. But I agree with the article that a Mormon President is not what America needs, Mormonism needs to collect more higher ranking in the public before taking over.

crunchycheetos said...

I think religion is not a sufficient reason for supporting/not supporting a political candidate. Religion is too commonly brought into the political sphere-WHERE IS DOES NOT BELONG. Take Obama for example, when he was campaigning in 2007, his Muslim background was commonly brought to the forefront. Countless articles were posted about “America’s-not-ready-for-a-Muslim-president” and effected his overall image. Later, to find out, he identified with being a Christian. I hope it does not seem like I am ranting, but I do not understand why religion plays such an significant role in politics?

Preston L.

Amisha P said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amisha P said...

I agree with Preston's comment about Religion not being apart of the political sphere. However religion is apart of the political sphere and we cannot ignore it. Preston points out that Obama’s religious affiliations were questioned. During the Kennedy election, people were worried about Kennedy’s affiliation as well. They were afraid that his Catholic faith would affect his politics. Today, Americans are worried that a Mormon might become a president. I believe that America is ready for a Mormon president and we need set aside the religious affiliation of a presidential candidate and look at his politics. Religion should play no role in whether a candidate becomes a president or not, because we have a system of checks and balances. I believe that even if the president’s religion begins to bleed into his politics the system of checks and balance will stop it from becoming an issue.

Carrie B said...

I think Alicia did a great job here. I also agree with Amisha that religion does play a roll in politics, so it cannot be ignored. However, I am not convinced that America is gaining a increasingly open mind towards Mormonism. I think that the beliefs of Mormons are often not understood and therefore judged. Because most Americans focus on belief when they think of a religion, this seems to bleed over into their perception of Mormons more generally. I think this affects Mormon politicians, and I am curious to see how this will play out in the presidential election.