Should Mitt Romney's religion count against him?

Naffa

Naffa

Naffa

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The Guardian said:
A third of Mormons say Mitt Romney's religion will count against him

Almost half of Mormons believe they are more discriminated against than African Americans, poll reveals

A third of Mormons in the US believe voters are not ready to elect Mitt Romney, or any other member of their church, as president.

A survey of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) published on Thursday found that almost half of Mormons in the US consider themselves more discriminated against than African Americans.

Research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found suspicion spills over to political life, with 32% of Mormons believing Romney's religion will count against him in a presidential election. Slightly more than half say US voters will accept a Mormon in the White House.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/12/third-mormons-mitt-romney-religion

I have amended the title of the thread so that it asks a question, rather than repeat the title of the article.

My opinions on religion are well known, but this is a specific question regarding Mormonism, not just 'religion'. I personally think it should count against him, in part given how blatantly fraudulent and false the Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints is. That, along with Mitt's history of being a missionary for the Church, whilst it was an officially racist organisation, which is something I don't believe he has answered for, to date. Also, the potential constitutional crisis that could arise from having a president that believes there is an individual alive (the high priest or the president?) that is quite literally god's representative on Earth, whose authority, one might assume, is higher than that of the US constitution.

I don't think that simply being religious is a problem in a leader, for instance, I admire Tony Blair somewhat as a leader and statesman. But I do think that Mormonism is in something of a different league, for the reasons offered above.

The question is, how much does OcUK disagree with me? :p

EDIT: I did not want this thread to be a debate about who you want to win the Republican nomination, or become the next president.
 
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No-one should be persecuted for religious beliefs.

However, you shouldn't let them get in the way if you are a politician. And I'm pretty sure mormonistic beliefs would :).

So yeah, I think it's entirely possible that he won't get the job. And I don't entirely disagree with that :)
 
I want Ron Paul to be president. The only guy that seems genuinely different.


As for the question, yes it will probably count against him. Though in an ideal world, religion and politics would be completely separate
 
More discriminated against than African Americans? I must have missed the chapter in history where the Mormons were a slave race...

There is nothing wrong with religion but it has no place in politics as Shayper already said. If his religion would get in the way of his ability to govern or in any way impede his judgement on matters relatiing to governance then I dont believe he should be a candidate.

/Salsa
 
It's a popularity contest, with no rules about whatever random justification people want to give for their decision, no matter how idiotic it is, just like all of politics.
 
Castiel said:
ha!

It was trap.....a cunning one at that.
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Well played, good sir!

So, why do you think that his beliefs shouldn't be held against his ability to do his job? What if an issue comes up where his beliefs may go against him making a particular choice?
 
Yes it should count, religion in general damages the world at this late stage in the game, but it doesn't get more backwards or cult like than the Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints
 
Shayper said:
Well played, good sir!

So, why do you think that his beliefs shouldn't be held against his ability to do his job? What if an issue comes up where his beliefs may go against him making a particular choice?
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Because in a fair society he should not be judged on actions he has yet to commit.

The office of President has a several safeguards against really poor decision making, especially that which is regarded as unconstitutional or against US federal laws.

Like all prospective candidates he should be given the same opportunity and the electorate will decide ultimately who will sit in the Whitehouse. He should not be deterred or disadvantaged by his religious beliefs by way of non-democratic mechanisms.
 
Castiel said:
Because in a fair society he should not be judged on actions he has yet to commit.

The office of President has a several safeguards against really poor decision making, especially that which is regarded as unconstitutional or against US federal laws.

Like all prospective candidates he should be given the same opportunity and the electorate will decide ultimately who will sit in the Whitehouse. He should not be deterred or disadvantaged by his religious beliefs by way of non-democratic mechanisms.
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Damn. I wish I had as much world experience as you. I have a counter argument but I don't know how to word it without sounding petty :/
 
Judgeneo said:
For the uninformed among us, what makes the Mormon religion so backward compared to the rest of Christianity?
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It is a christian primitivist society based largely on the highly disputed scriptural interpretations of Brigham Young and the self-style Prophet Joseph Smith jr.....the latter claimed to have had visions in which an Angel led him to the 'Golden Plates' a kind of American commandments from which with the help of a seer stone he translated into the Book of Mormon allegedly he then showed the 'plates' to 11 witnesses before returning the plates to the Angel....

This all happened around the early part of the 19th century and are not considered to be Christians at all by most Mainstream Christian Churchs.

A quick explanation that should give you enough to go on......Although it should be pointed out that Mormons are not a single unified group, some have very diffetent beliefs and interpretations from others...it is a very American religion tbh.
 
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Religion should have course be an important factor - one of many I might add - in helping people to decide their president. It shows his beliefs, morals and goes some way to show what kind of person he is and what kind of decisions he might make.

As for the specific person and religion in question - I don't think he has a chance and I think his religion will be one of a few big reasons why. And I'm ok with that.
 
Castiel said:
Because in a fair society he should not be judged on actions he has yet to commit.

The office of President has a several safeguards against really poor decision making, especially that which is regarded as unconstitutional or against US federal laws.

Like all prospective candidates he should be given the same opportunity and the electorate will decide ultimately who will sit in the Whitehouse. He should not be deterred or disadvantaged by his religious beliefs by way of non-democratic mechanisms.
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At this point, it's fairly clear Americans are quite happy to **** all over their constitutional protections. SOPA, NDAA, Patriot Act, Gitmo, etc etc

It's fairly clear a President could quite easily become untouchable with the support of the majority of wealthy Americans.
 
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