A new poll of Mormons in the United States finds that while one of their own is making unprecedented progress in a bid for the presidency, many feel uneasy in the spotlight, misunderstood and unaccepted in the American mainstream.
Despite this, a majority of the Mormons polled said they believed that acceptance of Mormonism was rising and that the American people were ready to elect a Mormon as president. It is a sunny outlook for a religion that is consistently ranked near the bottom, along with Muslims and atheists, on favorability surveys of various groups.
“On the one hand, Mormons do feel they are discriminated against, and that their coverage in the news and, even more so, in popular culture isn’t helping,” said David Campbell, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and a Mormon who served as a consultant on the poll. “But you also find this strain of optimism that things are going to get better and this is an important moment for Mormonism.”
The survey of more than 1,000 Mormons by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life was conducted between Oct. 25 and Nov. 16, 2011, by landline and cellphone and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Mormons make up less than 2 percent of the American population.
In a church known for its energetic young missionaries, three out of four Mormon respondents were raised in the faith, and about one in four were converts.
Two-thirds of the Mormons polled described themselves as politically conservative (compared with 37 percent of American adults), and 74 percent of them said they were either registered Republicans or lean toward the G.O.P. (That compares with 45 percent of American adults over all.)
Mitt Romney, who is leading in the Republican presidential contest, is resoundingly popular among Mormons, rated favorably even by 62 percent of the Mormon registered voters who said they were Democrats or leaned that way. The reason?
“He’s seen as more than just a political candidate,” Mr. Campbell said. “He’s a path breaker for the faith.”
Other Mormon politicians did not fare as well, though, perhaps because they are perceived as too liberal or because they are not as well known: Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah who is also seeking the Republican nomination, was perceived favorably by half of Mormons in the poll who are registered voters.
Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, a Democrat from Nevada, was rated favorably by only 22 percent.
Nearly all Mormons in the survey, 97 percent, said they considered Mormonism to be a Christian religion. That stands in stark contrast to the general public, of whom just over half agree. But a vast majority of Mormons in the poll said they believed in Mormon doctrines that were distinctive from traditional Christian churches: 94 percent said they believed that the president of the church is a prophet of God, and 95 percent said they believed that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies. Only 22 percent said that some teachings of the Mormon church “are hard for me to believe.”
Mormons are more devout than those of other faiths, the survey found. Three out of four said they attended religious services at least weekly, while four out of five said they prayed at least once a day and tithed the required 10 percent of their income to the church each year.
Gregory Smith, senior researcher at the Pew Forum, said, “That is a level of religious commitment that is much, much higher than we see among the public as a whole, and is even higher than we see among other religious groups with high levels of religious commitment,” like white evangelicals and black Protestants.
“Mormons and evangelicals have a fair amount in common with each other,” Mr. Smith said. “Large numbers in both groups are politically conservative, are Republican and are religiously committed.
“Despite that,” he said, “Mormons perceive a fair amount of hostility directed at them from evangelicals.”
Half of the Mormons polled agreed that evangelical Christians were “unfriendly toward Mormons,” compared with 22 percent who said that “people who are not religious” were unfriendly.
Despite this, a majority of the Mormons polled said they believed that acceptance of Mormonism was rising and that the American people were ready to elect a Mormon as president. It is a sunny outlook for a religion that is consistently ranked near the bottom, along with Muslims and atheists, on favorability surveys of various groups.
“On the one hand, Mormons do feel they are discriminated against, and that their coverage in the news and, even more so, in popular culture isn’t helping,” said David Campbell, associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and a Mormon who served as a consultant on the poll. “But you also find this strain of optimism that things are going to get better and this is an important moment for Mormonism.”
The survey of more than 1,000 Mormons by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life was conducted between Oct. 25 and Nov. 16, 2011, by landline and cellphone and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Mormons make up less than 2 percent of the American population.
In a church known for its energetic young missionaries, three out of four Mormon respondents were raised in the faith, and about one in four were converts.
Two-thirds of the Mormons polled described themselves as politically conservative (compared with 37 percent of American adults), and 74 percent of them said they were either registered Republicans or lean toward the G.O.P. (That compares with 45 percent of American adults over all.)
Mitt Romney, who is leading in the Republican presidential contest, is resoundingly popular among Mormons, rated favorably even by 62 percent of the Mormon registered voters who said they were Democrats or leaned that way. The reason?
“He’s seen as more than just a political candidate,” Mr. Campbell said. “He’s a path breaker for the faith.”
Other Mormon politicians did not fare as well, though, perhaps because they are perceived as too liberal or because they are not as well known: Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former governor of Utah who is also seeking the Republican nomination, was perceived favorably by half of Mormons in the poll who are registered voters.
Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, a Democrat from Nevada, was rated favorably by only 22 percent.
Nearly all Mormons in the survey, 97 percent, said they considered Mormonism to be a Christian religion. That stands in stark contrast to the general public, of whom just over half agree. But a vast majority of Mormons in the poll said they believed in Mormon doctrines that were distinctive from traditional Christian churches: 94 percent said they believed that the president of the church is a prophet of God, and 95 percent said they believed that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies. Only 22 percent said that some teachings of the Mormon church “are hard for me to believe.”
Mormons are more devout than those of other faiths, the survey found. Three out of four said they attended religious services at least weekly, while four out of five said they prayed at least once a day and tithed the required 10 percent of their income to the church each year.
Gregory Smith, senior researcher at the Pew Forum, said, “That is a level of religious commitment that is much, much higher than we see among the public as a whole, and is even higher than we see among other religious groups with high levels of religious commitment,” like white evangelicals and black Protestants.
“Mormons and evangelicals have a fair amount in common with each other,” Mr. Smith said. “Large numbers in both groups are politically conservative, are Republican and are religiously committed.
“Despite that,” he said, “Mormons perceive a fair amount of hostility directed at them from evangelicals.”
Half of the Mormons polled agreed that evangelical Christians were “unfriendly toward Mormons,” compared with 22 percent who said that “people who are not religious” were unfriendly.
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