Posted on 06/13/2012 12:15:39 PM PDT by NoLibZone
Americans' aversion to voting for Mormons has spiked since Mitt Romney's first presidential bid in 2007 — and that the people most wary of Mormon candidates are not Evangelicals, but rather political liberals and non-religious voters, according to new research from a leading scholar of anti-Mormon attitudes.
The overall increase in anti-Mormon attitudes among liberals may be an unanticipated consequence of the "the continuing candidacy of Mitt Romney and Mormon activism against same-sex marriage," the study suggests. And its findings may be alarming to the Romney campaign because among the study's other findings is that voters' perceptions of Mormonism are closely tied to whether they'll vote for him.
According to American National Election Studies, nearly 35 percent of national respondents said in February they were "less likely" to vote for a Mormon. That's up nine points from 2007, when Pew found 26 percent of voters expressing concern about pulling the lever for a Latter-day Saint.
The uptick in anti-Mormon voter attitudes may come as a surprise to those who predicted Romney's candidacy would have a mainstreaming effect on his faith. But as University of Sydney scholar David Smith, the paper's author, writes, just as President Obama's successful candidacy didn't put an end to tense race relations in America, Romney's political assent hasn't cured the country of anti-Mormonism. In fact, as the data shows, Romney's rise may have lead to increased anxiety about his religion among his natural political opponents.
According to the paper, concern about Mormonism has remained relatively stable among Evangelicals, with 36 percent expressing aversion to an LDS candidate in 2007 and 33 percent doing so in 2012. But among non-religious voters, that number shot up 20 points in the past five years, from 21 percent in 2007 to 41 percent in February. There were also substantial increases in Mormon-averse voters among liberals — 28 percent in 2007 and 43 percent in 2012 — as well as moderates, who went from 22 percent in 2007 to 32 percent this year.
"Aversion to Mormons is still an important foce in American public opinion, and one that seriously affects Romney's chances even if he ultimately overcomes it," Smith writes in his paper, available online here.
Smith is the author of a detailed analysis on anti-Mormonism in the 2008 election, which suggested that the belief that Mormons aren't Christian was tightly linked to opposition to Romney among Christian conservatives.
The new study argues that the single most accurate predictor of how a voter views Romney is how he views Mormons — whether or not they are Christian, patriotic, hard-working, and friendly. Strikingly, the correlation between attitudes about Mormonism and support for Romney is even stronger than political ideology or party identification.
Perhaps most potentially distressing to Romney's campaign is the study's finding that conservatives who said they were less likely to vote for a Mormon were much more likely to say they were undecided or would not vote at all in a contest between Obama and Romney. Pundits have been predicting for months that anti-Mormon Republicans would stay home in November; this study reaffirms that idea.
The paper comes with an important caveat: the survey data was collected in late February and early March — in the heat of the Republican primaries. At that point, Romney was the clear frontrunner, but far from the presumed nominee. Since his opponents dropped out, Romney has earned plaudits from Republican operatives and activists for uniting the right behind him with his combative campaign style.
The two questions that remain are whether Romney can overcome Christian conservatives' deep-seated theological differences by taking the fight to Obama; and whether he can have to win over swing voters and moderates, whose perceptions of Mormonism have worsened over the past five years.
He’s no monkey, he’s a sheepdog. Read his profile to get a laugh. The interesting part is he actually believes this. LOLOLOL
What a disgusting little noob you are. LOLOLOL
Read your post again, it comes out of nowhere to insult and call names, with absolutely no relevance to my post or the thread, or to anything, other than to make a personal attack.
You are projecting your own anger, onto others.
You are the first person in 62 years ever to accuse me for proselytizing for Mormonism. Mormonism is a CULT.
But I’ll take the guy who sings Praise to The Man than the guy who bows to Islam and Alinski.
You can write in Jesus if you want, but He is will not win. Either a Mormon or a Marxist will be.
Wake up and smell the coffee (I know, Bishop Romney does not drink coffee).
I never said that, I said you were proselytizing for Bishop Romney, you know, the Presidential candidate.
Interesting mistake for you to make though, maybe it ties in with your mocking Jesus and Christianity in the same post.
Don't know that it's necessary for a liberal to read FR in order to come to the conclusion that mormonism is anti-ethical to their idealogy.
"Well, considering how many Freeps who HATE Romney and Mormons (and continually posts every negative article, report, etc. about Mormons and Mittens"
Yep! They "hated" me so much that I eventually joined their side. Stockholm syndrome! That's me. Tell me, how is posting articles about the teachings and beliefs of mormonISM and then discussing those equal to "hate"? Has anyone come right out and said they "hate mormons, any mormon, no matter who or what they are, they are hated strictly because they're a mormon"?
"and have equated voting for Mitt as being "ANTI-PATRIOTIC" and "ANTI-CHRISTIAN" and who claim Mitt is 10 times worse not too mention more of a "threat" than our Fascist Dear Leader...."
Uhm, the AB0 crowd are the ones who berate those who won't for Romney as pro-facist and anti-American. "If you don't vote for Romney, it's a vote for 0bama." I've yet to see any anti-Romney FReepers post what you mentioned. They're usually too busy defending their integrity, honor and character against the visceral and disgusting personal attacks from the AB0 crowd. In regards to the "threat", cognitive dissonance, the "threat" that many talk about is a spiritual one, not a temporal one. Which do you consider more important? Your eternal soul or your temporary stay on the 3rd rock?
"Yep, nodoubtaboutit, Mormons are much more dangerous..."
As has probably been explained to you, eternal vs. temporal.
"...and if you doubt me, just ask those who shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty if they do not agree???"
I do doubt the veracity of what you're "saying". It's laced with personal prejudices and hyperbole. IOW, your emotional quotient is off the charts.
Welcome back to FR retread.
Two weeks and you are already back to your personal grudges and attacks.
I do not mock either Jesus, my Lord, or biblical Christianity. But the White House ain’t the Kingdom of God and I will choose the lesser of two WEASELS. My weasel of choice happens to wear Mormon Underoos.
Well you did use Jesus to mock not voting for Bishop Romney, while pushing the anti-Jesus, Mormon Bishop, as “the guy who sings Praise to The Man”.
You might want to find another approach to serving Romney’s candidacy.
My thinking exactly. I’m not voting for minister in chief, I want the Kenyan gone. I don’t have a problem with Romney’s’ religion if we can just get off the communist path this moron has us on. I sense a lot of religious bigotry in some of these posts. I haven’t known to many Mormons but the ones I have know were good people who were loyal to their spouses and their families. Mitt Romney was not my first choice or even second or third but he won fair and square. There are plenty of so called Christians I would take him over....can you say Westboro Babtist, I bet Fred Phelps can quote scripture verbatim.
Felps is no Christian nor a Baptist. Nothing he exudes remotely resembles Christian teachings.
That’s the problem...a Christian is in the eye of the beholder. I know what I think a Christian is and I’m sure you know what you think a christian is. It’s all a matter of faith and belief. Ask some protestants what they think of Catholics. I was around when Kennedy was running and the conversations were about the same.
You might want to take a deep breath.
Oh great. An excuse for Romney to move even further to the Left to woo back anti-mormon liberals.
No it isn't. A Christian follows the teachings of the New Testament...specifically the words and works of Christ.
Phelps is just a walking entrapment-tarbaby, daring anyone to assault him and generate a lawsuit.
He gives even slimy lawyers a bad name.
So that I can join you in proclaiming that Bishop Romney “sings Praise to The Man”, and get on threads to try to stop people from discussing his Mormonism?
Discuss Mitt’s Mormonism all you want. So are you gonna ....
pull the lever for Obama
vote for a 3rd candidate who will not get an electoral vote
stay home equally willing to have either Obama or Mitt as Pres.
I say... Vote for the Weasel in Underoos cause RINO beats Pinko.
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