http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7971009

The question is, as this article discusses, would Americans vote for a candidate who is of the Mormon Faith? Not looking for a religious debate here, so please dont turn it in to that, but rather debate whether or not religion should and will influence the voting of americans.

Also discuss what traits of Mr. Romney could keep him from reaching the White House or get him voted in.

10/10/2006 8:46:29 AM

The majority of Southern Baptists (not to pick on them, other denominations as well) would not vote for a Mormon in a Republican primary. So Romney's not getting it (not to mention he's from Massachusetts).

10/10/2006 8:49:25 AM

Religion plays a huge role in politics. You're pretty good if you don't belong to a whacko sect or something. That's why most people who run for president are "United Methodist."

of which I am too... I'm gearing up for my presidential run in 2032. I go to JOhn Edwards' church.

10/10/2006 8:53:04 AM

I would vote for plenty of different religion(ed) presidents including Mormonism as long as their views on government and social policy were consistent with mine. The fact that this guy is from Mass. seriously makes me like him less than the fact that he's mormon.

I say, let him run in the primary, but he probably would lose. It may be because he's mormon and people dislike that, but shit, I love that Donnie and Marie.

I thought most of our presidents were Episcopalian (are the one's that run most UM?)
I'm Catholic, which is REALLY underrepresented based on the population of us (about 1/4) but I don't care. I didn't vote for Kerry and he was Catholic, it just doesn't matter to me that much.

[Edited on October 10, 2006 at 8:56 AM. Reason : .]

10/10/2006 8:55:03 AM

I would not vote for any candidate who cannot separate his religious beliefs from his or her political actions.

In other words, I would never vote for someone who was deeply religious, regardless of what that religion may be.

10/10/2006 9:22:19 AM

^ second.

I would vote for a mormon guy though if mormanism wasn't a part of his political agenda, I would vote for ANY religious person who fit that criteria. Religios just has no place in government policy, your beliefs should be personal beliefs and any time you try and make policy that would implement them on the public, you are in the wrong.

[Edited on October 10, 2006 at 9:54 AM. Reason : ]

10/10/2006 9:34:58 AM

NO

10/10/2006 11:01:05 AM

NO

10/10/2006 11:17:56 AM

extremely unlikely

10/10/2006 11:35:21 AM

As long as I could be sure that his religion didn't interfere with his politics, I wouldn't care if the guy was a Mormon, Muslim, Scientologist, Pastafarian, whatever.

But realistically, this guy will never get elected. Religion is a huge issue for Americans, and if somebody running to be their leader isn't a Christian then they're not going to take to that real kindly. In spite of seperation of church and state, the simple truth of the matter is that you can't get elected into office in this country unless you profess a belief in God and Jebus and the bible (minus the book of Mormon, of course). Whether or not our current politicians actually believe the bible, they had to say that they do in order to get where they are now. To have done otherwise would have been instant political suicide. Until the majority of America gives up Christianity or converts to something else, this isn't going to change any time soon.

10/10/2006 1:16:07 PM

What letter is next to his name?

andI'm not refering to Romney. I know he is a republican and I hate him a lot.

[Edited on October 10, 2006 at 1:22 PM. Reason : .]

10/10/2006 1:22:01 PM

there's a surprise.

10/10/2006 1:40:10 PM

umbrellaman, you think that if we all switched to muslim, we'd be okay with mormon presidents?

Wanting a leader that shares the same faith as you isn't unique to Christianity.

I have no problem with any religion as a president, but we all know a lot of people do. But this isn't unique to Christ.

10/10/2006 2:30:23 PM

it really shouldnt matter, but he wouldnt make it past the primaries. if he is running close to anyone, all his oponent has to do is pull the joseph smith card, and evangelical christians will eat out of his hand like animals.

10/10/2006 2:50:46 PM

There was that one interesting poll a while ago that said the American population was more willing to vote a female, black, and/or Jewish president than a Mormon one. I think that says that Mormons have a very special place in the religious psyche of America.

10/10/2006 2:54:09 PM

yeah man, there are A LOT of mainstream christians who would look real squinty at a mormon canidate

[Edited on October 10, 2006 at 2:58 PM. Reason : .]

10/10/2006 2:58:12 PM

Quote :

"umbrellaman, you think that if we all switched to muslim, we'd be okay with mormon presidents? Wanting a leader that shares the same faith as you isn't unique to Christianity. I have no problem with any religion as a president, but we all know a lot of people do. But this isn't unique to Christ."

Well duh.

Protestants are the majority here and so we're talking about Protestants' views of Mormonism in a possible leadership role.

10/10/2006 3:08:45 PM

Quote :

"In other words, I would never vote for someone who was deeply religious, regardless of what that religion may be."

I would say that carter was very deeply religious and i dont think he had trouble seperating politics and religion

10/10/2006 6:05:37 PM

i'd say its not very possible because mormans scare some people

people aint gonna vote for people that scare them

10/10/2006 6:07:50 PM

Quote :

"there's a surprise."

What's surprises? The fact that I abhor his politics? Abhor his family and the means in which they developed wealth on the backs of my ancestors?

Don't get me wrong, there is at least one mormon I'd vote for, Harry Reid.

10/10/2006 9:18:20 PM

Its actually a pretty interesting discussion some places, so I wanted to see what you guys thought.

If you look at some parts of the election process, he could actually be very poised to get alot of votes early on from republican voters.

I think he would get the majority of his persecution here in the south, of course, but lets say he does make it through the primaries and becomes the republican candidate...

Would the good ole boy southern baptists around here vote for hillary clinton over a conservative who happens to be mormon.... Im not sure its as resounding of a yes as many might think.



Away from the religion peice of his life, it seems like he really is making a case to be the only republican candidate with a shot because of his track record of getting things accomplished in areas where his party is not in control of government... which would most likely be the case when he took office a few years from now.

JMHO

10/10/2006 10:32:46 PM

http://www.techshopministry.org/umns/usnews_archive.asp?ptid=&story=%7B0DD026F7-15FC-4FA1-8C95-F142A77392A5%7D&mid=883

There have only been 3 methodist presidents according to the church.

This link states 5 (only 2 being undesputed).

http://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html

The majority being episc. and 1 j. witness

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 3:47 AM. Reason : ]

10/11/2006 3:43:43 AM

Quote :

"When Eisenhower was 5, his parents became followers of the Bible Students, whose members later took the name Jehovah's Witnesses. The Eisenhower home served as the local WatchTower meeting Hall from 1896 to 1915, when Eisenhower's father stopped regularly associating due to the WatchTower's failed prophesies that Armageddon would occur in October 1914 and 1915. Ike's father received a WatchTower funeral when he died in the 1940s. Ike's mother continued as an active Jehovah's Witness until her death. Ike and his brothers also stopped associating regularly after 1915. He enjoyed a close relationship with his mother throughout her lifetime. In later years, Eisenhower became a communicant in the Presbyterian church in 1953; in his retirement years, he was a member of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church.[8]"

Eisenhower was president in '53, so I guess he he was really Presbyterian?

10/11/2006 8:05:37 AM

^^ Is it saying that Quakers make lousy presidents? (i.e. Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon...)

I think the Jehovah's Witness one is probably a stretch given that he gave up on them decades before his presidency.

10/11/2006 9:50:37 AM