Author: Kelsy Hillesheim

Mormonism and the Limits of Political Neutrality

When discussing the influence of religion on politics in the United States, commentators typically discuss the “religious right.” However, in devoting so much attention to this group, it is easy to forget about other groups that are influential on a smaller scale. One such group is the Mormons, who make for an interesting case to study given the consistency of belief among orthodox members. The aim of this project is to demonstrate how institutional Mormonism has shaped American policy in the 20th and 21st centuries in a more significant way than might otherwise be anticipated. The official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) on U.S. public policy is emphatically politically neutral. However, as illustrated both by policies covertly supported by the institutional LDS Church and by U.S. Supreme court cases related to these policies, this is not the case in practice. The methodology for this project will be to take a case study approach. I argue that in each of the cases I present the LDS Church was de facto involved in the political sphere in a way that it claims not to be. The cases I inspect include the Equal Rights Amendment, Proposition 8, and the MormonLeaks release of internal tapes that bring into question the separation of church and state among LDS politicians. This evidence includes videos, as in the MormonLeaks case, opinions from court cases, and internal writings. As an outsider, I am uniquely situated to write on this topic, as previous writings come primarily from members or former members of the LDS Church. As a whole, this evidence indicates that there is a divide between word and deed in the institutional LDS Church. For this reason, we would be remiss to ignore its influence.

The Influence of Mormonism on Politics

When discussing the influence of religion on politics in the United States, the “religious right” is often what is discussed. However, in giving attention to this group, it is easy to forget about other groups that are influential on a smaller scale. One such group is the Mormons, who make for an interesting case to study given the consistency of belief among orthodox members. The aim of this project is to demonstrate how Mormonism has shaped American policy in the 20th and 21st centuries in a more significant way than might otherwise be anticipated. As an outsider, I am uniquely situated to write on this topic, as previous writings come primarily from members or former members of the LDS Church. The official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) on U.S. public policy is emphatically politically neutral. However, as illustrated both by policies covertly supported by the institutional LDS Church and by U.S. Supreme court cases related to these policies, this is not the case in practice. The methodology for this project will be to take a case study approach. I argue that in each of these cases the LDS Church was in fact involved in the political sphere in a way that it claims not to be. The cases I intend to inspect include the Equal Rights Amendment, Proposition 8, the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, and the MormonLeaks release of internal tapes that bring into question the separation of church and state among LDS politicians. This evidence includes videos, as in the MormonLeaks case, opinions from court cases, external analysis in the form of papers, and internal writings from members. As a whole, this evidence would indicate that there is a divide between word and deed in the institutional LDS Church. For this reason, we would be remiss to ignore its influence.

The Influence of Mormonism on U.S. Politics

When discussing the influence of religion on politics in the United States, the “religious right” is often what is discussed. However, in giving attention to this group, it is easy to forget about other groups that are influential on a smaller scale. One such group is the Mormons, who make for an interesting case to study given the consistency of belief among orthodox members. The aim of this project is to demonstrate how Mormonism has shaped American policy in the 20th and 21st centuries in a more significant way than might otherwise be anticipated. The official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) on U.S. public policy is emphatically politically neutral. However, as illustrated both by policies covertly supported by the institutional LDS Church and by U.S. Supreme court cases related to these policies, this is not the case in practice. The methodology for this project will be to take a case study approach. In doing so, I expect to find that in each of these cases the LDS Church was in fact involved in the political sphere in a way that it claims not to be. The cases I intend to inspect include the Equal Rights Amendment, Proposition 8, the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, and the MormonLeaks release of internal tapes that bring into question the separation of church and state among LDS politicians. As a whole, this evidence would indicate that there is a divide between word and deed in the institutional LDS Church. For this reason, we would be remiss to ignore its influence.

8 Week Syllabus

Course Description:

The aim of this course is to gain an understanding of how religion influences public policy in the United States. We will do this by investigating the case of Mormonism and its role in public policy in the United States. For the purpose of this course, the terms Mormon and LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) will be used interchangeably, as they are used interchangeably by members of that church. I chose this religion to focus on instead of faiths with greater numbers of adherents and political influence in the United States, like Evangelical Christianity or Catholicism, for a number of reasons. Among them is that it is easy to decide who counts as Mormon due to the orthodoxy of the religion that leaves little room for the gray areas that exist in the Bible Belt. Additionally, there is a strong concentration of LDS members in the intermountain west region of the United States. This makes it easier to specifically attribute certain policies to the influence of Mormonism as opposed to political or other influences. This makes it a strong first foray into public policy analysis with respect to religion in the U.S. In order to fully analyze this, we will approach Mormonism and government policies that were affected by it through a historical, philosophical, and religious studies approach with the aim of understanding how public policy is influenced by the “elephant in the room” of our personal beliefs and worldview so that we might be more effective in creating empathetic policy.

Continue reading 8 Week Syllabus

4 Week Syllabus

Course Description:

The aim of this course is to gain an understanding of how religion influences public policy in the United States. We will do this by investigating the case of Mormonism and its role in public policy in the United States. For the purpose of this course, the terms Mormon and LDS (Latter Day Saint) will be used interchangeably, as they are used interchangeably by members of that church. I chose this religion to focus on instead of faiths with greater numbers of adherents and political influence in the United States, like Evangelical Christianity, for a number of reasons. Among them is that it is easy to decide who counts as Mormon due to the orthodoxy of the religion that leaves little room for the gray areas that exist in the Bible Belt. Additionally, there is a strong concentration of LDS members in the intermountain west region of the United States. This makes it easier to specifically attribute certain policies to the influence of Mormonism as opposed to political or other influences. This makes it a strong first foray into public policy analysis with respect to religion in the U.S. In order to fully analyze this, we will approach Mormonism and government policies that were affected by it through a historical, philosophical, and religious studies approach with the aim of understanding how public policy is influenced by the “elephant in the room” of our personal beliefs and worldview so that we might be more effective in creating empathetic policy.

Continue reading 4 Week Syllabus

Faith Transitions as Viewed Through Music

I am looking to explore faith transitions through the lens of music. Tyler Glenn’s release of a music video called “Trash” as a response to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS)’s change in policy to deny baptism to children of gay and lesbian parents inspired me to incorporate music into this discussion.

For a number of reasons, I intend to focus on Mormonism specifically and the people who leave it. First, Mormonism is a young religion relative to the major world religions, yet it also is large enough that it is a global faith with a significant number of adherents. Second, it is doctrinally uniform and most members subscribe to the orthodoxy of their religion. Because it is generally assumed that all LDS members are taught the same doctrine, members from different regions share the same background in LDS sacred music. Third, ex-Mormons tend to form strong communities of their own, whether in person or online. This makes it easier to locate information that is relevant to my topic.

It would be helpful to have information on the history of LDS musicians in general (from Donny and Marie Osmond on up), the role of music (including sacred music) in Mormon life, the history of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, how LDS hymns compare to music that predominates in other faiths, music and the religious experience in general, LDS doctrine and the main points that bring people to leave (it would probably be helpful to have a copy of No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie, as it is cited as a common text for people working through difficult doctrines for the first time), the history of intellectualism in the LDS Church (the September Six, etc.), Mormon culture and how it differs from doctrine (though it differs from doctrine, some elements of Mormon culture have been de facto elevated to doctrine), back issues of church publications, Sunstone Magazine, Dialogue Journal, and information on the history of the Brigham Young University (BYU) Honor Code.

Note: If my topic needs to be narrowed even further, then I can always focus on a specific group of people who are leaving (intellectuals, LGBT+ individuals, young adults, feminists, etc.) or the experience of people who leave who are already marginalized in society (persons of color, persons with disabilities, persons with mental illness etc.). Literature on these areas is very welcome.

Here’s the link to Tyler Glenn’s music video: https://youtu.be/JNqnLdX4TM8