Can a Mormon be President?

I ran across an article from the New Republic that I found on the CBS News site. In the column John B. Judis responds to critics who believe that Mitt Romney's Mormon faith disqualifies him from being President. Among the reasons given are: 1) The LDS Church is led by a prophet, what if the prophet asked Romney to do something immoral or illegal, wouldn't he be beholden -- the response, of course, is the same as JFK gave about the Pope; 2) Mormonism is a recent fraud, so how can anyone believe this stuff and still be considered rational? Well, if you believe Richard Dawkins, none of us religious types, including good Mainline Protestants are rational. As a member of the Disciples of Christ denomination, it was good to see that my church was mentioned as another recent tradition born of the 2nd Great Awakening -- and he mentioned two of our presidents, LBJ and Ronnie Reagan. He forgot to list, however, James Garfield, the only preacher to ever inhabit the White House.

Now, I have my problems with LDS doctrine and practice, but every Mormon I've known, and I've known quite a few, have been decent, honorable, studious, courteous men and women. They make great neighbors! So, I'd have no problem with an LDS President or for that matter an LDS Senate Majority leader, oh wait, we already have one, Harry Reid!

Here is Judis' final paragraph:

Certainly, there is a bridge between religion and politics that politicians cannot safely cross. And that consists in bringing particular, sectarian beliefs openly to bear on major national issues. George W. Bush is often accused of doing so, but he has actually has been fairly careful not to--for instance, in his decision on stem-cell research. It's a presumption of American politics that politicians will not cross this bridge. We've now given this benefit of a doubt to Catholics and Jews. It's time to give it to Mormons like Harry Reid and Mitt Romney.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I live in Chandler, Arizona - close to Mesa, Arizona. Members of the LDS church have taken over our homeowners association and they shun anyone who tries to be on the Board who is not LDS. They heavily influence decisions made by the public schools. Until the past couple of years, the Arizona State Legislature was always controlled by Mormons. They don't believe in separation of Church and State because theirs is a higher calling, in their opinion.

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