Posted on 07/08/2011 11:59:15 AM PDT by delacoert
(WNS)--Mitt Romney and every American is free to believe whatever he wants, and religious belief whether benign or bizarre -- should not prevent anyone from running for public office.
But that doesnt mean voters shouldnt take a candidates religious views into account. Indeed, a persons religious beliefs tell us a great deal about both a candidates character and the core principles that inform his governing philosophy. When we evaluate candidates for public office, religion matters and should.
As for Romney, I start with the understanding that Mormonism is not orthodox, biblical Christianity. If this understanding is true, then the promotion of Mormonism would be to promote a false religion. So the real question is whether supporting a Mormon for president would promote Mormonism. My answer to that is yes. It is inconceivable to me that electing a Mormon to the worlds most powerful political office would not dramatically raise the profile and positive perception of Mormonism. That is why I cannot in good conscience vote for Romney, despite agreeing with him on a good many social and fiscal issues.
Some argue that we elect a president, not a preacher, but this argument fails to account the presidency as bully pulpit. He is a preacher, apologist-in-chief for the American Vision. In this vital role, worldview matters. We have a right to expect the president to project a vision consistent with the beliefs, values, and ideals weve long held as a country.
I sometimes hear the related argument that we dont ask an airplane pilot his religion, only that he can fly the plane. However, we do ask airplane pilots their religion -- at least indirectly. A theologian friend is fond of saying, There are no postmodern airplane pilots. He means that pilots do not merely push levers and twist knobs. They have a core set of beliefs and values about how the universe operates. They believe in the physical laws of the universe. Their behavior in the cockpit directly connects to their beliefs about the world.
Romneys strategy has been to talk about values and dodge questions about religion, as if they were somehow unrelated. He hopes that as America accepted John Kennedys Catholicism, so too will America accept his Mormonism. But Kennedy gave a famous speech to the Houston Baptists about religion that explained his views and calmed concerns. Romneys problem is that if he really believes what the Mormon Church believes, he dares not make that speech. The American people will say, Really? Are you kidding me? Or, if he says he doesnt believe what the Mormon Church teaches, fellow Mormons will feel betrayed and even those who have trouble with the Mormon Church will nonetheless wonder about a man who cant stand up for his own.
Yogi Berra famously said that predictions are dangerous, especially predictions about the future. That said, my prediction is that for Romney these problems are insurmountable and will ultimately bring down his bid for the presidency.
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That is the perception their PR machine puts forth.
#1: Polygamy is a very liberal idea that militates vs. both monogamy as well as leaving more men single. Who instituted it? (The Mormons)
#2: Thinking that you are a god or god-in-embryo is a very "progressive" idea. Who instituted it? (The Mormons)
#3: Baptizing dead people is a very, very out-of-this world concept. [Notice the lone mention of it in the Bible -- the apostle Paul specifically says "they" -- not "we" -- as practicing it.] Who instituted it? (The Mormons)
#4: Claiming Jesus Christ utterly failed to protect His bride, the Church, is a very "progressive" idea geared as an attempt to erode the historic Christian church. Who instituted it? (The Mormons)
#5: Claiming the historic Christian church is 100% full of "apostates" is a very radical idea -- similar to what the Muslims have done in labeling Christians as "infidels." Who instituted it? (The Mormons)
#6: Marrying 11 women already married to other men is an extremely liberal practice. Who did that? (Lds founder Joseph Smith)
Overall, the Mormon divorce rate appears to be no different from the average American divorce rate. A 1999 study by Barna Research of nearly 4,000 U.S. adults showed that 24% of Mormon marriages end in divorce a number statistically equal to the divorce rate among all Americans. (svcw)
Right when the economy started dipping ('08), more couples were sticking it out (couldn't afford to divorce). That wasn't true in Utah...separations/divorces still increased. See story here: U.S. divorce dip excludes Utah: Recession has no effect on filings, despite national trend
UtahPolicy.com reviewed divorce-rate changes 'tween 2003-->2008. It measured % increases of divorce. The top five states with double-digit % increases over those five years were:
1. Alaska, 17.2%
2. Nevada, 14.2%
3. Colorado, 13.1%
4. Kansas, 11.8%
5. Utah, 10.5%
Source: Utahs Divorce Rate Much Higher than States Without Gay Marriage Bans (Jan. 14, 2010)
The next five states with a % increase for those years were:
6. Idaho, 9.3% (also a high Mormon populated state)
7. South Dakota, 9.2%
8. Arizona, 7.1%
9. North Carolina, 5.7%
10. Virginia, 3.9%
This means that Utah's increase in its divorce rate 'tween '03 & '08 was more than TRIPLE than that of 40 other states!
Also, only 17 states had higher divorce rates than Utah's 1.83%. Here were those rates...notice the entire "Mormon Central" region (Utah-Idaho-Wyoming-Nevada):
1. Nevada, 3.61%
2. Arkansas, 2.58%
3. Wyoming, 2.35%
4. Idaho, 2.25%
5. Mississippi, 2.22%
6. (tie) Florida & Kentucky, 2.21%
8. Alaska, 2.20%
9. New Mexico, 2.09%
10. West Virginia, 2.08%
11. Colorado, 2.07%
12. Arizona, 2.04%
13. Tennessee, 2.02%
14. Alabama, 1.99%
15. Oregon, 1.92%
16. North Carolina, 1.88%
17. Washington, 1.86%
18. Utah, 1.83%
19. (tie) Virginia and Delaware, 1.81%
You would think that with Utah being 60% Lds, that it'd be lower than 18th on the divorce % list.
Well, that WOULD be true; if MORMONism were as good for you as the PR machine claims...
Ummm.... yes. Yes, I do.
Probably the most interesting thing about the whole Mormons versus everybody else debate is that it brings up issues in Christology that were "settled" during the church councils of the fourth through the sixth centuries.
I've often wondered how different our world would be if the Arians or Nestorians had won those debates.
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