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Romney's Mormon Faith Proves Divisive

Submitted by Raymond Takashi Swenson, Jun 1, 2007 14:44

By and large this was a balanced presentation of the political issue that has been made oout of Mitt Romney being a Mormon. It could have been improved a bit by pointing out that it has not generally been an issue in electing Mormons as governors, congress members and senators. Besides Mitt Romney in Massachusetts and his father in Michigan, Mormons have served as governors in Arizona and (of course) Utah (though non-Mormons have also been elected, and Mormons who were not observant, such as the alcohol-imbibing but thrice elected Calvin Rampton). Mormons have been elected to the Senate from Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and Florida, and to the House from Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, and Oklahoma. As far as I know, the fact of their being Mormon was not an issue in their campaigns in those states. Journalists are missing a story in failing to ask why the religious issue about Mormons is a no-never-mind at the state and congressional level but has been elevated in the news media to a make-or-break issue just for the presidential race.

With regard to the issue of blacks holding the priesthood in the LDS Church, a full picture would also point out that there have been faithful black Mormons since the beginnings of the Church, including in congregations where I lived in Utah, Colorado and Maryland, and that there was never racial segregation in Mormon churches; that the Church never had any racial restrictions on giving priesthood ordination of American Indians, Hispanics, Asians (like myself), or Pacific Islanders (many of whom are more dark skinned than many American blacks); that thousands of Mormons in Brazil are of partial African descent; that thousands of people in Ghana and Nigeria had formed themselves into congregations before 1978, begging for missionaries to be sent to baptize them, which was done immediately after the 1978 change, and there are now many tens of thousands of African Mormons in those nations and in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania; that modern black Mormons include Gladys Knight and her family, who has formed a multi-ethnic choir of Mormons in Las Vegas that won the Grammy for best gospel album.

It is also worth pointing out that other churches in America have a history of racial segregation, the largest example being the Southern Baptists who split off from other Baptists over the issue of slavery. In some congregations of Southern Baptists, that segregation continued into Jimmy Carter's era (the 1970s), when Carter left a congregation because of its refusal to integrate. Southern Baptist history on race is just as recent in time, and in many ways more significant, and if reporters want to talk about the history of the LDS Church, they should use the Southern Baptist example as a standard for how "ordinary" Christians were handling the issue.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
No one ever, anywhere in the history of the world has "proven" any religion to be true. This is in... [MORE]	Edward Bruce Williams	May 13, 2008 20:42
This anti-Mormonism raised now is nothing more than bigotry for political ends. Whoever raised an issue when Harry Ried, a... [MORE]	Noah Nunberg	Feb 5, 2008 16:33
Welcome to the post 9-11 world where people are more skeptical of Islam. More skeptical of a religion. Get it? [MORE]	Jim Bo	Dec 6, 2007 10:53
The Mormon Church was a racist organization until 1964 when the passage of the Civil Rights Act forced it to... [MORE]	Ed	Oct 6, 2007 14:40
All religions had racisim in them prior tro the civili rights act. Christian churches had "white" churches and "black" churches.... [MORE]	Chris	Dec 16, 2007 10:24
Ed, The Mormon Church has had Black members since its founding. That fact, in conjunction with it opposition to slavery,... [MORE]	Bot	Jan 16, 2008 12:17
If a radical Islamist ran for President, no one should ask him about his beliefs? I think asking someone who... [MORE]	benjamincarl	Feb 3, 2008 02:38
I think the article was well-written and unbiased. There are a lot of questions to be answered. The one question... [MORE]	Amando Alvarez	Jul 4, 2007 21:20
Excellent job done here. I think the facts are laid out well and it is not leaning for or against... [MORE]	Dane	Jun 3, 2007 17:06
Mormons believe Jesus and Lucifer (Satan's name before the fall) are brothers and they also believe that people can become... [MORE]	Robbie	Jun 2, 2007 21:57
Robbie wrote: "Mormons believe Jesus and Lucifer (Satan's name before the fall) are brothers and they also believe that people... [MORE]	Nick	Jun 3, 2007 22:00
Do you want a President that believes in the scam that is Mormonism? Would you elect a Scientologist President? A... [MORE]	Anon Guy	Jul 22, 2007 13:45
What people believe in matters. What if a candidate (D) doesn't believe in the Constitution? Or how about a Libertarian who... [MORE]	Jim bob	Dec 6, 2007 11:06
Well, I don't agree with the Mormon belief about Lucifer and the one who in human form became Jesus. I don't... [MORE]	Earle	Dec 12, 2007 22:28
Mormonism is a bizarre counterfeit of Christianity that perverts or denies the most essential elements of Judeo-Christian faith while masquerading... [MORE]	Carson Bevan	Dec 13, 2007 00:35
If you are indeed a christian, then you beleive that we havea a Father in Heaven. If this is true,... [MORE]	nate	Feb 1, 2008 18:34
If you are going to try to criticize the LDS (mormon) faith, then you need to get your facts strait.... [MORE]	Nate	Feb 1, 2008 19:45
Judy, I think your question is pretty nit-picky. At least the Romney boys did some kind of service for a... [MORE]	Jim	Jun 2, 2007 21:26
Looking at those professing a desire to be Prisident of this great nation, I wonder WHY anyone being a Morman... [MORE]	Charles Kidd	Jun 2, 2007 16:44
I am a member of the LDS church (Mormon)and sometimes vehemently disagree with many politicians who are active members of... [MORE]	Joe Hagan	Jun 2, 2007 14:31
By and large this was a balanced presentation of the political issue that has been made oout of Mitt Romney...	Raymond Takashi Swenson	Jun 1, 2007 14:44
If you thought that your personal bias would be hidden if you attempted to keep the article "balanced", you have... [MORE]	Jan	Jun 1, 2007 13:31
I suspect that Romney's what he appears to be: a decent, clean-cut, successful guy (who had a big headstart by... [MORE]	Michael Huff	Jun 1, 2007 11:58
There is one are in which I believe Romney's faith does come into play. Romney has stated that, if elected,... [MORE]	Judy Raddue	Jun 1, 2007 11:35
As was stated in this article. I beleive that it is a reprhensible act, to consider a person's faith when... [MORE]	Mark Cortner	Jun 1, 2007 10:53
Orrin Hatch was the most recent Mormon to make a serious bid for the Presidency...circa 2000. [MORE]	phil	Jun 1, 2007 10:48
"Proves Divisive" has certainly NOT been proven. Rather, it is wishful thinking by those who would divert attention from Romney's... [MORE]	Tracy Hall Jr	Jun 1, 2007 09:31
As a young man I served my country as a Vietnam era vet, USAF. And after my service to my country, as... [MORE]	Bob Henstra	Jun 3, 2007 00:31
I am a Mormon who served 20 years in the Air Force, retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel. My... [MORE]	Raymond Takashi Swenson	Jan 9, 2008 20:13

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