Whether or not Mitt Romney makes it to the White House, his candidacy signals that Mormons have arrived in American political life. Just as President Obama’s nomination and election marked a sea change in the country’s tortured racial history, so Romney’s nomination has changed religious boundaries that have persisted for more than 160 years.Read the whole thing at City Journal
Saturday, October 20, 2012
It's Mormon in America
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Before reading this article, I was pretty misinformed about the Mormon faith, or specifically, their way of life. My vision reflected what the article points out, people who don’t drink coffee or alcohol and have multiple wives. The statistical information about the education level, the projects many Mormons are interested in, and the growing numbers of the faith were all surprising to me. I think its interesting (being Christian) of how many only focus on the “taboo” aspects of Mormonism like multiple wives. You never hear about the good work they do like being the largest charitable giver, the mixed used and low income development projects they strive on and other projects like this. I think even though it is not the typical Christian family our country focuses on, it emphasizes the importance of family through the various actions they participate in. I believe it is a different approach to “what makes a family”. I also think it was interesting to see the attention Salt Lake City gets from big-name companies because of the higher education level among Mormons in the area. Interesting article.
ReplyDeleteThis article cleared up a large misconceived notion I had of the entire state of Utah. Much like Kotkin describes, I imagined it to be a place overran by extremely religious Mormons. A place where there would be no alcohol, no party scene, and truthfully, not many notable businesses. To learn that some of the biggest corporations in the United States have offices in Salt Lake City was surprising. It further raises a question I already had about the majority of the Mormon faithful, which is, why is the Mormon religion so closely tied with wealth and business prosperity. It seems rather odd to me how these seem to tie together. After reading this article I would really like to visit Utah, Salt Lake City in particular, and experience for myself the atmosphere and lifestyles. I find it to be very intriguing and after learning how completely off-based my notions were, I only now want to learn more about this seemingly strange land.
ReplyDeleteI will be the first to admit that before reading this article, especially after viewing the other readings for this week, I thought of the Mormon religion as crazy and strange. Before, when I heard that someone was a Mormon, I automatically thought of someone who doesn’t drink alcohol, caffeine, has weird sacred underwear, and believes that when they die they will be a god of their own planet somewhere in outer space. After reading this article though, I have a new found respect for the Mormon religion and culture, I for one had no idea that they were so educated, and over half of the men went to college (secondary education). I also found it very interesting that so many high profiled companies were moving their offices and headquarters out to the Salt Lake City area in order to work with and hire Mormon’s. Another surprising fact discovered in this article was that Utah is ranked first among quality of life. Any way I look at this I truly have a new opinion on Mormon’s, not as the crazy non-drinking weird people but as educated, caring, and giving people they really are.
ReplyDeleteI took away a different feel from the article than everyone else or perhaps I missed the point entirely. I felt as though they were giving all the credit to Mormons for Utah prospering. Or perhaps saying that since Obama had his chance to be a new kind of president, someone else should now based on religion. I feel like if we choose someone just because they add a different religion to the White House, we are not really choosing the best candidate. Change is good, yes, but shouldn't the reasons behind that change be good as well? Or do the means not matter as long as they justify the end game of change and diversity?
ReplyDeleteWhile I feel as if I knew a bit about the Mormon faith before reading this article, what I didn't realize was that 60% of the people in Utah belong to the LDS church...what? This makes me want to visit Utah just to experience and investigate what I am sure is a very unique culture. When I think of Salt Lake City, my ignorance of the area made me think of a sort of extreme winter sport playground...not at all of Mormons.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it is interesting to think that Mormons are "on the rise" in America, or that their time to shine has begun, as this article seems to suggest. I think the idea that Mormonism is strange and foreign still permeates many regions of the USA that AREN'T the Midwest and still believe that Romney's success as a presidential candidate has less to do with his Mormon faith and more to do with his conservative but not "crazy too-conservative" stances. He plays Obama's opposite well, and I am not totally sold on the idea that Mormonism has as much influence in his success as this article suggests.
First initial thought to Mormons is that they have sacred underwear and will become a god of their own planet after death. Now, it comes to more of a respect, at least to the Mormons of Utah, who have done a lot of work to help the state, and the Salt Lake City area to prosper. The information regarding men going off to college, was rather shocking, I was not expecting over half of men to pursue a higher education. I would not mind going off to Utah to visit this area and experience this way of life firsthand, it would be nice to have an actual view of how these people manage themselves well to prosper. This article was very interesting and definitely gave a new perspective.
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