On Faith Asks if Mormons are “Mainstream” – Thankfully We’re Not

The Washington Post’s religion blog, On Faith,  asks this week, “After 175 years of existence, is Mormonism entering the mainstream of American religious life or are people still suspicious of it?”.

The answer seems to me that many people are still suspicious of us although we are certainly considered more mainstream than in the past. While it is unfortunate that so many seem wary of us it’s understandable.  And it’s getting better as painful as much of the recent scrutiny has been.  But I hope that we never become considered mainstream.

I could not disagree more with Professor Jon Butler’s concluding remarks in the PBS documentary, “All religious systems have to move beyond their own creation … many religious systems have found that very difficult to do. Christianity did it; Islam did it; Judaism did it.  The question is, can Mormonism do it?” I’m actually not sure what he means by that but if it means sacrificing the literalness of the Restoration, no thank you.

On Faith features several answers so far from its large panel of contributors.   The Church’s own Michael Otterson answers that as different as Mormons may be, we have a right to be respected while recognizing our differences.

“No Theological Test for Citizenship.”

This is America. We don’t ask Jews to be less Jewish, or Catholics to be less Catholic in order to be a respected part of our multi-faceted society. The differences between Mormons and other Christians are the reasons for our existence as a church. Our understanding of the purpose of life, the nature of God, our relationship to Jesus Christ, and much more, are central to the way Latter-day Saints define themselves, and that ought to be OK with everyone whether they agree or not with the doctrine. Just as there is no religious test for federal office, so there is no theological test for citizenship.

While disagreeing theologically, Mormons have no trouble about embracing Catholics, Baptists and Methodists as fellow Christians, or Jews and Buddhists as respected fellow citizens of faith. Mormons are entitled to the same respect afforded any other part of our society. It is un-American to treat them as one of the last groups about which blatantly intolerant comments are still seen as politically acceptable.

Most of those who have posted so far are worthwhile reading.

Politically speaking, of interest are:

• Chuck Colson, “A Long Way from Mainstream” – while he certainly doesn’t care much for Mormonism as a theology he denounces religious bigotry and says he will openly assess Mitt Romney on his values, not religion.  That must be good news for Romney.
• Cal Thomas, “Good People, Bizarre Beliefs“ - I think he tries to be helpful, in a backhanded way
• John Mark Reynolds, “Should Christians Vote for Mormons?” – “A traditional Christian should only make political alliances with groups that embrace reason, with a theology with agreeable public policy implications, and with a history of successful participation in the Republic. Fortunately for Romney, Mormonism easily passes these tests.”

Non-politically speaking, I found Sulayman S. Nyang’s, “Role Models for Religious Minorities” very interesting as well.  I believe more will be posting throught the week so it will be worth revisiting.

(Possibly) Related posts:

1. Pew Forum Celebrates Pioneer Day Releasing “A Portrait of Mormons in the U.S.”
2. Mormons 2nd Most Likely to Marry Within Faith
3. Who Prays the Most?