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TechnographMitt's Mormonism question is unfair
By Scott Nathan Green
Posted: 8/23/07 Section: Opinion Columns
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, is a Mormon. And it might cost him the election.
According to a Nov. 2006 Rasmussen poll, 43 percent of Americans would never consider voting for a Mormon candidate. Only 38 percent said they "would ever" consider casting a ballot for a Latter-day Saint. Time magazine gave Romney's religion a 2,000-word story in an issue with his face on the cover. This focus on piety is especially striking considering the relative lack of controversy surrounding the first major female and black candidates.
A candidate's specific religion hasn't been such a big deal in presidential politics since 1960, when John F. Kennedy had to promise to a gathering of Southern Baptist leaders he would not be a puppet of the pope or, to coin a phrase, "popepet." Romney will probably have to prove he is not a Mormon puppet, or "Muppet."
Christians who judge Mormons by the actions of a minority of fundamentalist polygamists (a practice disavowed by the church and barred for more than 100 years) are wearing irony blinders. Just as there is a small number of Mormons who marry multiple wives in the supposed name of religion, so too do a small number of Protestants bomb abortion clinics. Wackjob extremist Christians - and for that matter, wackjob extremist Jews, wackjob extremist Muslims and even wackjob extremist Buddhists - are willing to kill in the name of their invisible man in the sky. Wackjob extremist Mormons mostly engage in the simple pursuit of nookie.
Think of how you cringe when someone commits some horrible and embarrassing act in the name of your religion; this is how Mormons feel when they hear in the news about some polygamist nut in a double-wide trailer in an especially rural area of the West.
Other Mormon practices deemed odd are not so strange when compared to more practiced religions. The temple garment, a one- or two-piece cotton underwear worn by observant adults, is substantially less constricting than religious vestments worn by some members of the Catholic sect Opus Dei (like the spiky metal "cilice" that causes intentional discomfort when wrapped around a worshipper's thigh) and substantially less visible than the yarmulkes worn by observant Jewish males. It's not my cup of tea - I like buying my underwear for a discount at Meijer, thank you very much - but there is no collateral effect on me when a Mormon friend shows up with a layer of religious clothing concealed by his outerwear.
According to a Nov. 2006 Rasmussen poll, 43 percent of Americans would never consider voting for a Mormon candidate. Only 38 percent said they "would ever" consider casting a ballot for a Latter-day Saint. Time magazine gave Romney's religion a 2,000-word story in an issue with his face on the cover. This focus on piety is especially striking considering the relative lack of controversy surrounding the first major female and black candidates.
A candidate's specific religion hasn't been such a big deal in presidential politics since 1960, when John F. Kennedy had to promise to a gathering of Southern Baptist leaders he would not be a puppet of the pope or, to coin a phrase, "popepet." Romney will probably have to prove he is not a Mormon puppet, or "Muppet."
Christians who judge Mormons by the actions of a minority of fundamentalist polygamists (a practice disavowed by the church and barred for more than 100 years) are wearing irony blinders. Just as there is a small number of Mormons who marry multiple wives in the supposed name of religion, so too do a small number of Protestants bomb abortion clinics. Wackjob extremist Christians - and for that matter, wackjob extremist Jews, wackjob extremist Muslims and even wackjob extremist Buddhists - are willing to kill in the name of their invisible man in the sky. Wackjob extremist Mormons mostly engage in the simple pursuit of nookie.
Think of how you cringe when someone commits some horrible and embarrassing act in the name of your religion; this is how Mormons feel when they hear in the news about some polygamist nut in a double-wide trailer in an especially rural area of the West.
Other Mormon practices deemed odd are not so strange when compared to more practiced religions. The temple garment, a one- or two-piece cotton underwear worn by observant adults, is substantially less constricting than religious vestments worn by some members of the Catholic sect Opus Dei (like the spiky metal "cilice" that causes intentional discomfort when wrapped around a worshipper's thigh) and substantially less visible than the yarmulkes worn by observant Jewish males. It's not my cup of tea - I like buying my underwear for a discount at Meijer, thank you very much - but there is no collateral effect on me when a Mormon friend shows up with a layer of religious clothing concealed by his outerwear.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 13
Zachariah Parry
posted 8/23/07 @ 8:48 AM CST
You may not believe in God, but at least you believe in honest reporting.
George
posted 8/23/07 @ 9:55 AM CST
Consider adding one more item to your list of things "that matter" about Romney or any other candidate for President. HIS/HER ABILITY TO BE THE CEO OF OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
Keep in mind that Romney is running for President, the head of the EXECUTIVE branch. (Continued…)
mish
posted 8/23/07 @ 10:50 AM CST
Sure a candidate's religion is fair game because that affects (or should affect) his convictions. Would you want Mittmoud Romnidinejad, a Wahhabi Muslim, for President? Of course not. (Continued…)
Scott
posted 8/23/07 @ 11:08 AM CST
This storyline is getting stale. (yawn) I like what Mr. Romney has to say, he has been a great business man and he is doing well as a politician. Mormons are good neighbors and citizens. (Continued…)
Erlenmeyer
posted 8/23/07 @ 12:14 PM CST
"Judging a person for their religious label is a fool's errand. Religious people tend to have their beliefs pounded into their heads from birth, and a 3-year-old in church is in no position to intellectually challenge what she's being told by Mommy and Daddy or the man on the pulpit. (Continued…)
Erlenmeyer
posted 8/23/07 @ 12:18 PM CST
Why are there so many Pro-Romney articles in the DI? Where is the coverage of other candidates....why do they not receive similar attention?
Jason
posted 8/23/07 @ 1:09 PM CST
"What matter are Romney's moral compass, integrity and political stances. The name of his religion ranks on the relevance scale right between shoe size and haircut. (Continued…)
columnistalum
posted 8/23/07 @ 2:43 PM CST
Erlenmeyer, Einstein and Darwin held such "ridiculous beliefs" themselves..ah, what did they know anyway?
Brian
posted 8/23/07 @ 2:58 PM CST
I believe the true religions of the world, snake-handling and sun-worshipping are getting a bad rap because of people like Romney who use their religious beliefs to justify stupidity and ineptitude. (Continued…)
sloagm
posted 8/24/07 @ 2:08 PM CST
First of all Mish has the absolute funniest transformation of Romney's name...I loved it. But I do support Romney.
Erlenmeyer's dismissal of Romney outright due to his beliefs is, itself, irrational. (Continued…)
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