Why Anti-Mormonism is Not Bigotry

The latest controversy surrounding the 2012 GOP primary race started when a conservative, evangelical pastor named Robert Jeffress, while speaking at the National Family Values Conference, referred to Mormonism as a cult and claimed that Mormons aren't true Christians.  He then went on to urge his fellow Christian conservatives to vote for a "genuine follower of Christ".  Ironically, this is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Romney, who, in the past, has found his faith to be a barrier in garnering support among some Christian conservative voters.  In response to the comments, as well as the reluctance of Romney's opponents to disavow them, numerous conservative commentators have rallied behind Romney in condemning Jeffress' comments as "bigoted". 

Slate blogger, William Saletan, a conservative who sometimes pretends to be a centrist, was unambiguous in his rebuke of the comments and the other candidates' failure to challenge them.  At issue were the responses of the race's other two frontrunners, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.  While both asserted that Mormonism is not a cult, they refused to state where Mormons are Christians, and this, according to Saletan, is the new racism.  I have a hard time summoning the words needed to convey just how absurd Saletan's analysis is on this issue.  My second dilemma is that, with so many obvious reasons why anti-Mormonism is not bigotry, I'm having a tough time deciding where to begin.

For one thing, I think that the entire question of religious discrimination needs to be re-examined.  Not to say that it doesn't exist, but too often people try to equate religious discrimination with racism and homophobia.  The obvious problem with this view is that race and sexual orientation are, for the most part, traits that we are born with, which makes for an entirely different dynamic.  Although, there are those who are born into their faith, the decision to join or remain within a particular faith is a choice, and usually it's a political one.  All faiths presently claiming to be persecuted prescribe elaborate moral and political doctrines, many of which are considered arcane by those outside the faith.  Although it's perfectly acceptable to discriminate against someone for being a communist, it is somehow unacceptable to discriminate against someone for being a member of a faith that espouses misogyny, homophobia, or racial supremacy, all of which can be found in at least one of the Abrahamic faiths.  What's even more perplexing is that that, while the communist has likely arrived at their position through a reasoned examination of the literature, including the opposing arguments, the faithful arrive at their position by virtue of unquestioned dogma, and we are told we must respect those beliefs.  This deference to religion is extended, not because the faithful have provided compelling and  rational arguments to support their offensive doctrines, but the respect is extended precisely because they cannot offer any such support.  Such is the nature of the religious mindset, which insists on inverting morality and turning basic reasoning on its head.

Saletan also appears to be offended by the characterization of Mormonism as a cult.  The truth is, all religions begin as cults in which a charismatic "prophet" manages to sway a small band of followers, who, by and large remain on the fringes of society due to their unusual beliefs and practices.  The few faiths that have managed to transcend this designation and become mainstream have typically done so through unethical means.  With the exception of Orthodox Christians, who constitute a tiny minority of Christendom in North America, all other Christians are the theological offspring of the Roman Catholic church.  We all know how the Catholic church spread the faith throughout Europe and the New World, and it wasn't by handing out cookies.  Mormonism achieved their mainstream status through slightly less ignoble means.  They have enjoyed relative success by requiring all their youth to go on "missions" during which they travel abroad and recruit new members to the faith, often by going door-to-door.  But more importantly, they tailored the tenets of their faith when it was politically expedient to do so.  In 1890, the then-president of the church, Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto officially suspending the practice of polygamy, a move that led to Utah's eventual acceptance into the Union six years later.  Coincidentally the United States never took issue with the Church's sanctioned discrimination against blacks, which persisted for more than a decade after the end of civil rights movement.

Apart from being fringe, the other distinguishing feature associated with cults it the promulgation of beliefs and practices that are harmful to their followers.  Some may argue that this doesn't apply to Christianity or Mormonism.  But what about the gay teenager who is driven to commit suicide because his parents think his "lifestyle" is an abomination?  What about the thirty-year-old mother of eight whose physical and mental health are eroding because she's been forced to spend her entire adult life popping out one child after another since her church forbids contraception and insists that she obey the wishes of her husband at all times?  What about those in Africa who have died of AIDS because, following the wishes of their church, they neglect to wear condoms?

The only thing that separates today's cults from mainstream religions is that cults simply lack the imperialist leanings of their mainstream counterparts.  And yet, even the worst cults, couldn't dream of wreaking upon humanity the cumulative havoc and suffering inflicted by the major world religions.  But such is the nature of the religious mindset, which insists on inverting morality and turning basic reasoning on its head.

Regarding the question of whether or not Mormons are Christians, I think it's quite reasonable to assume that they're not.  Both religions believe in extensive mythologies whose authenticity is tenuous at best.  True there is a great deal of overlap since the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, based his new religion on Christianity, but where they differ, they are indeed mutually contradictory.  For example, Mormons believe that after the original resurrection, Christ resurfaced in the Midwest, somewhere near Missouri.  Mormon's don't believe in the holy trinity, but they do believe that Christ and Satan are brothers.  Clearly, what constitutes Christianity is an open question that is subject to debate, but it's not unreasonable (insofar as any theological discussion can be reasonable), to believe that the Mormon faith deviates too wildly from canonical Christian doctrine to be considered Christian.  This is no different from orthodox Jews disowning Messianic Jews because the latter believe that the Messiah has already returned as Jesus Christ, which is a no-no in mainstream Judaism.  Similarly, most Muslims reject the Nation of Islam because the latter believes in a 20th century prophet whereas, according to Islam, Muhammad was the last one.

If Mr. Saletan and the other apologists want to condemn religious bigotry, they should start by addressing the real religious bigotry - bigotry that is perpetrated, not against religious people but rather, by religious people in the name of their religion.  A good example of this is the Mormon church's richly-funded campaign to pass proposition 8, which took away the rights of same-sex couples to get married in California.  There are many other examples of bigotry carried out by people dutifully adhering to the edicts of their faith, and this provides legitimate reasons to dislike those religions. That's not bigotry so much as common sense. But such is the nature of the religious mindset, which dispenses with morality and turns basic reasoning on its head.