NYT op-ed: "The Presidency’s Mormon Moment"

[DeepModem Mom]

Op-Ed Contributor
The Presidency’s Mormon Moment
By KENNETH WOODWARD
Published: April 9, 2007

IN May, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential hopeful, will give the commencement address at Pat Robertson’s Regent University. What better opportunity for Mr. Romney to discuss the issue of his Mormon faith before an audience of evangelicals?...As a Mormon, Mr. Romney faces ignorance as well as fear of his church and its political influence. More Americans, polls show, are willing to accept a woman or an African-American as president than a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It isn’t just evangelical Christians in the Republican base who find Mr. Romney’s religion a stumbling block. Among those who identify themselves as liberal, almost half say they would not support a Mormon for president. Although with 5.6 million adherents Mormonism is the nation’s fourth-largest denomination, 57 percent of respondents to a recent CBS poll said they know little or nothing about Mormon beliefs and practices. Mr. Romney needs to be their teacher, whether he likes that role or not....

***

...Mr. Romney must be sure to express himself in a way that will be properly understood. Any journalist who has covered the church knows that Mormons speak one way among themselves, another among outsiders. This is not duplicity but a consequence of the very different meanings Mormon doctrine attaches to words it shares with historic Christianity.

For example, Mormons speak of God, but they refer to a being who was once a man of “flesh and bone,” like us. They speak of salvation, but to them that means admittance to a “celestial kingdom” where a worthy couple can eventually become “gods” themselves. The Heavenly Father of whom they speak is married to a Heavenly Mother. And when they emphasize the importance of the family, they may be referring to their belief that marriage in a Mormon temple binds families together for all eternity.

Thus, when Mr. Romney told South Carolina Republicans a few months ago that Jesus was his “personal savior,” he used Southern Baptist language to affirm a relationship to Christ that is quite different in Mormon belief. (For Southern Baptists, “personal savior” implies a specific born-again experience that is not required or expected of Mormons.) This is not a winning strategy for Mr. Romney, whose handlers should be aware that Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals know Mormon doctrine better than most other Americans do — if only because they study Mormonism in order to rebut its claims.

Especially at Regent University, Mr. Romney should avoid using language that blurs fundamental differences among religious traditions. Rather, he should acknowledge those differences and insist that no candidate for public office should have to apologize for his or her religious faith....

(Kenneth Woodward, a contributing editor at Newsweek, is writing a book about American religion since 1950.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/opinion/09woodward.html?hp

[TwilightGardener]

1. Jeez, Kenneth, don't HELP the guy--let him blow it. Crap.

[skipos]

5. No. Please help Mitt however you can.

He would be one of the easiest for us to beat, imo.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Yikes--I used to think that about Shrubya--"No WAY will America

fall for this idiot!" I think being an idiot actually helped him. Romney, hard to say--clearly smarter/more accomplished than Shrub, but is overeager to say ANYTHING to get people to like him, which makes him look foolish. His poll numbers are up in NH and SC, though--so if you're hoping Romney's the golden boy, you may yet get that wish.

[skipos]

8. Yeah, America can go for dumb presidents

but I think they'll have a tougher time with a mormon, pretend hunter, unabashed flip flopper, from Taxachusettes, etc. He'd lose his homestate too, which definitely helps our cause.

I am not saying it will be a cakewalk.

[hlthe2b]

2. His religion is the least of his problems from my standpoint...

Does his being Morman (assuming he were not a RW dunce) bother other DUers?

On edit: the only aspect of his religion that bothers me, would be the same for any professed religious fundamentalist (Christian or otherwise)... I believe in clear separation of church and state and any candidate who wears his religion on his "sleeve" is a warning sign IMO.

[Cobalt-60]

4. It does tell me his cronies will come

from rapacious Utah exploiters of the same caliber as Senator Hatch.
No thanks.

[Tom Joad]

3. America should reject idiots of any religion or non-religion

[Erika]

7. All you have to look at is the insanity of Pat Robertson

He created a law school to promote rabid right wing theocracy. Mitt, believing he will become a God of his own planets, fits in well with this insanity.

[Miss Chybil]

9. I wonder if Romney was Muslim and this article was written about him

how many here would cry foul? Or, let me make another comparison... If Romney were Wiccan, or Buddhist who would be jumping to his aid? Why is being Mormon any different? This guy, Woodward, has made slanted statements about the religion which I'm sure he knows will inspire the wrath of the "Christian right" like Mormons (who are about as politically to the "right" as anyone can get) believe they can become gods, or that their idea of salvation is so much different that the evangelical version.

Perhaps Mormons do believe, if they work hard, do good for others and follow all the rules that they will someday be rewarded in heaven with a planet much like this over which to "rule" and to spend eternity on with their fellow family members who have also followed all the rules. A silly idea? Whatever they want heaven to be, so be it, for them. Some people think heaven is full of virgins who have a thing for suicide bombers, or harp players with nothing else to do for eternity but strum away. Others think they're going to sit around for millenium upon millenium at the right hand of God. Whatever. That's their bag. We've had a few of these types running the country already.

I don't understand Woodward's assertion that Mormon salvation and Evangelical salvation are so much different. Each must accept Christ as their lord and savior. Perhaps it's the idea with evangelical salvation one's sins are forgiven no matter what they do, now, or in the future - although, you may have to add an addendum to the original "saving," I don't know. Mormon's believe one is washed clean of sin at his, or her, baptism, but that to stay clean, one must put some effort into it. Not that you are expected to be perfect, or that if you make a mistake, you can't ask for "forgiveness," but you are expected not only to say you're sorry, but to put a little "muscle" behind it. You're supposed to help somebody out. Take an old lady to the grocery store. Paint her front porch. Whatever. Here's the trick about Mormon "salvation," though. Mormons believe all people will go to heaven no matter their religion, no matter if they were "saved," or baptized, or even believed in God as long as they lived a decent life. These people won't get to go to the "best" heaven, but where they do go is much better than here. Bad people, like Hitler, are sent into the abyss. There is no hell, per se. The goal for a good Mormon is to get to the highest heaven, the celestial kingdom Woodward talks about. Used to be the only way one could get to the highest heaven, even if one was perfect and married was to be white. That is a stain the Mormon church will spend a lot of time, trying to wash out and I don't know if they will ever succeed. (You do have to be married to get to the highest heaven, btw.)

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is all religions based on magic have some quirky ideas. Some are quirkier than others depending on where and how you were raised. I don't think it's fair to bash someone for their religion no matter what it is - as long as they don't do sacrifices, or anything like that. Now, would I go up against Romney on his political beliefs that may, or may not stem from his religion - such as his views on abortion, war, marriage, birth control, etc.? Heck, yes. These are the issues. Mormonism is not and should not be anymore than Islam would be the issue. Of course, we all know how well a Muslim presidential candidate would go over in this country. This is why I feel all people should be give the opportunity to present their case for election no matter their race, creed, sex, or religion. To do otherwise, is to commit bigotry.

Now, the fact this guy is a Republican is a REAL problem for me. I'm an admitted anti-Republicanite! Bigotry... It's a really hard thing to get away from, isn't it?

[ToeBot]

10. There is no "Abyss" in Mormon dogma...

There is the notion of eternal darkness, but getting there involves a rather twisted and highly unlikely set of circumstances.

[Arugula Latte]

11. Let's hope it's only a moment. nt