A new survey revealed evangelicals as having the least favorable view of Mormons among polled white Christians.
Just 46 percent of white evangelical Protestants have a positive impression of Mormons compared to 62 percent of white mainline Protestants and 59 percent of white non-Hispanic Catholics, according to The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Overall, a slight majority of the public (53 percent) expressed a favorable view of Mormons, while 27 percent view Mormons unfavorably. A solid 20 percent of Americans said they have no opinion on Mormons.
A person’s educational level and whether he considers Mormonism a Christian religion played a factor in a person’s view, observed Pew.
Those with higher education tended to have a more positive opinion of Mormons – 64 percent of college graduates expressed favorable views, as did 56 percent of those with some college experience.
But less than half of those with a high school education or less (45 percent) have a positive impression of Mormons.
One of the survey’s most striking findings is the significance of the question of whether Mormonism is part of Christianity on a person’s view of the religion.
The majority of Americans surveyed (52 percent) believe Mormonism is a Christian religion. However, white evangelicals stand out among polled religious groups for considering Mormons to not be Christians.
Nearly half (45 percent) of white evangelicals say Mormons are not Christian, while 40 percent of them said it is. A higher percentage of white evangelicals who attend services at least once a week (52 percent) said Mormons are not Christians.
In a recent online debate, prominent evangelical scholar, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, argued Mormons are not Christians because from its founding Mormonism has rejected traditional Christian orthodoxy and membership in the traditional church. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president further noted that The Book of Mormon is different than the accepted testament by the historic Christian church.
“Here is the bottom line. As an Evangelical Christian – a Christian who holds to the ‘traditional Christian orthodoxy’ of the Church – I do not believe that Mormonism leads to salvation,” wrote Mohler in the “blog dialogue” hosted by the Web site Beliefnet.com in July.
“To the contrary, I believe that it is a false gospel that, however sincere and kind its adherents may be, leads to eternal death rather than to eternal life,” he stated.
The survey found that non-evangelicals were more open to the idea of Mormonism being part of the Christian family. A majority of mainline Protestants (62 percent) and white non-Hispanic Catholics (59 percent) consider Mormons as Christians. Also, the majority (59 percent) of those with no religious affiliation see the religion as part of the Christian faith.
A noteworthy finding was that less than the majority of the public (49 percent) said they felt they knew a great deal about the Mormon religion and practice, while about an equal number of people (48 percent) said they knew a Mormon.
As a group, those who view Mormons as Christians had a significantly higher favorable view of its followers (68 percent) than those who say Mormonism is not a Christian religion (34 percent).
Despite the fact the majority of the public consider it part of Christianity, most people still believe Mormons are very different than their own religion. A solid majority of polled non-Mormons (most of whom are Christians), said Mormonism is very different than their religion (62 percent).
White evangelical Protestants were most likely to say Mormonism is different than their religion (67 percent), followed by white non-Hispanic Catholics (61 percent), and white mainline Protestants (56 percent).
The Pew also found that those who do not believe that the Mormon religion is Christian (42 percent) tended to say they would less likely vote for a Mormon president, compared to those who consider Mormonism as a Christian religion (16 percent).
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life conducted telephone interviews with 3,002 adults from Aug. 1-18 for this survey.
Comments
8point - Just curious. Would you equally disparage Baptists for southern lynchings or (going further back) Catholics for the Inquisition? Are you equally as critical of other faiths for tragedies their followers have been involved in? Would you also label them as cults?
The Mountain Meadows Massacre was a great tragedy. I am appaled by the lack of humanity of the fellow Mormons involved (I am LDS). But it no more impacts my judgement of my faith than it does that of the other faiths I have mentioned (and more could be added to that list). I suppose we could even criticize the early church as it was Judas who betrayed Christ resulting in his crucifixtion. Judas was after all a follower of Christ. Look at what the fruits of this early faith were even in Christ's lifetime.
Or, more likely, we need to recognize that no church produces perfect adherents and often produces some terribly flawed members. If we look to the membership of and faith for perfection we will always be dissapointed. Which is why our faith must be in Christ and His perfection.
By your standard we would have to abandon any faith with skeletons in their closet. I for one won't join you on that slippery slope.
I had never givin much thought about the Mormons one way or the other........until I researched the "Mountain Meadow Massacre" as part of my family genealogy search. I deffinatly do not view them as a religion, but more as a cult, trying to be accepted as a religion
I used to think the members of the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” was about the most vile heresy of our society because they taught a falsehood of religion while all the while claiming to represent God and His work on earth. After many years of study and research, I now have to say they’re no more demonic than most of the other “Christian” religions.
Practically no mainstream religion teaches the true gospel of our salvation, instead teaching a conglomeration of false doctrine in an effort to assure that no person following their “church” doctrine will be saved. In short, the “churches” are vilely corrupt organizations striving for money and power.
The only group of people that I consider to be more vile and corrupt than lawyers are preachers. The lawyers take away the people’s wealth and dignity in the present but the preachers steal their soul for all eternity.
BOC560
Soccer - As a fellow Mormon, while I get your point that there are many virtues of the LDS faith that are Christian virtues at their root, to list them as definitive and unimpeachable seems a bit like bragging. Which seems a bit like pride. Which in itself seems a bit un-Christian.
But I think your broader point is well made. Why would Evangelicals have a negative view of Mormons when the LDS faith is (like so many faiths) objectively perceived as a benevolent enterprise (albeit not a group of perfect people)?
I assume that the Evangelical response would be that their negative view of the LDS is not a negative view of the LDS people or their lifestyles. It is a negative view of their doctrine as evidenced by their rejection of Mormons as Christian. I may disagree but fair enough.
But what concerns me and should concern Evangelicals, is that this view (albeit a sincere one) is the viewpoint of those lacking education (see the survey). It is also not the viewpoint of the majority of Christians or of the majorrity of Americans. Now I realize that being in the majority has never been the objective of Christs followers (nor should it be). But when you see many other fellow Christians (Catholics, Protestants, etc.) disagreeing with the Evangelical viewpoint, you might want to take a second look (IMHO).
I have always felt (and this survey supports my belief) that it is a minority of Americans and a minority of Christians who view the LDS unfavorably. That they are in the minority isn't proof that Evangelicals are wrong. But I do sleep better at night knowing that the majority of my neighbors and fellow citizens view me as I am. As a Christian and a Mormon.
Why would Evangelicals have a negative view of Mormons?
Perhaps the negative view results from all the Mormons who behave as follows:
Mormons put undue emphasis on building and supporting the family.
Mormons do too much genealogical research, and make too many genealogical resources available for free to the general public.
Mormons contribute too much money and other resources to domestic and international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Mormons do too much volunteer work.
Mormons emphasize education too much, and are too educated.
Mormons know too much about the history of their church.
Mormons do not imbibe in intoxicating drink enough.
Mormons unduly emphasize refraining from addictive substances.
Mormons place too much support in the oldest and largest women's organization in the world.
Mormons are too orderly in their worship services.
Mormons emphasize, nay require, their members to find out for themselves through study, pondering and prayer, whether the religion is true -- and finding out for yourself is wrong.
Mormons encourage their high-schoolers to do too much study of the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants via daily class work.
Mormons tithe too much.
Mormons put too much pressure on their men to be good husbands and fathers, and too much pressure on their women to be a good wives and mothers.
Mormons dress too modestly.
Mormons memorize too much scripture.
Mormons contributed too much to the United States expansion into the American West during the 19th century.
Mormons place too much hardship on their young men by requiring them to spend two years of their youth preaching the gospel and living a strict lifestyle and doing community volunteer work, instead of partying at college.
Mormon-owned BYU is a bad place because it is regularly judged the college where the students are the most stone-cold sober.
Mormons put too much emphasis on refraining from body piercing and tattooing.
Mormons don't use enough profanity.
Mormons are too strict about sexual morals.
Mormons don't respect teenagers because they don't let their teenagers date until their 16 years old and then they expect their teenagers to go on group dates until they are 18 years old.
Mormons put too much pressure on their members because they require their members to be accountable for their own actions based on a belief of free-agency.
Mormons dance too much.
Mormons go to church too much on Sundays.
Mormons restrict family life too much because they require marriage to be between a man and a woman.
Mormons are mean because they counsel their members to avoid inappropriate media content.
Cancer rates among Mormons are too low.
Mormons smile way too much and are way to friendly.
All this bizarre behavior by Mormons must surely lead to negative views about them.
One must appreciate "restorationist" ideology to understand the Mormon position. Put simply, they argue that Christ's pure doctrine as taught by him had been adulterated by human philosophies and intrigue over the ages. They believe that traditional Christianity had lost its authority and several important precepts that needed to be restored through a prophet, similar to Moses, Abraham, and Isaiah, who spoke with God. The LDS church recently presented this point in a news release, if anyone "out there" is really interested in learning their claim: http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=d3ffe520f288f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3e0511154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD
A serious student of Christian history must admit that Christianity has evolved over the past 2 millenia. The Mormon position is simply that at some point, it got off track and someone with authority from God was needed to put it back on. Are Mormon doctrines and claims different from most other Christian denominations? Yes. Are they Christian? That all depends on how you define the terms. If it is merely the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior, then yes, they are Christian.
Impressive research? Why just a survey of Whites? Strange! My faith includes all. Why would U.S. citizens express favor/non-favor of any religion? Do we no longer hold to the Constitution? Have Mormons been polled as to their favor/non-favor of "Christians"? Why? What is the motivation behind this research? Do educated people define Christianity differently? I've never met a Mormon who believes they're part of the "Christianity" sired by the Roman Catholic Church. It's unfortunate that data here suggest ignorance leads to bigotry, & is promoted by "Christian" publishers/ministers. Whose right is it to pronounce whether a person is a true Christian? Only God's. How will God decide? I can only guess by what we read in the Bible . . . by a person's behavior. Have we taught our uneducated brothers & sisters how to behave toward all mankind? Do we need to clean our own house of Pharisees? If we intelligently examine our own beliefs on the line with the coming election, is Romney's religion or ancestry as important as the principles to which he holds, & we want to preserve for our posterity? As a pastor, I think it's time for some serious prayer. Are we focused on what is truly right/wrong, or are we being blinded by the media & ignorant ministers? Are we still sheep who follow blindly? Or do we think for ourselves? If it's not about hate but about choosing a candidate who has a chance of winning in the primaries, let's think about which one has the best chance of beating the opposition party that touts everything contrary to our beliefs!
hthalljr,
The Jesus of LDS is not the Jesus of Christianity. Jesus of LDS is the brother of Satan and considered, 'another god'. I know the Mormons believe that there is a God called 'Father' and a God called 'Holy Spirit' and another 'God' called Jesus... but you believe in separate gods, not One God. The whole idea of Jesus' brother being Satan is blasphemous to the Christian faith.
One of my best friends is a Mormon, and yes, I have read the book of Mormon... the God of the Bible repeatedly asks to seek, test and find the Lord... the God of Mormonism doesn't like to be tested, specifically since he cannot past the historical tests, let alone the DNA tests or the native Americans.
I think the reason why Romney doesn't like to be asked questions regarding his faith is because that he has no answers for them.
No doubt the negative view of many Evangelicals toward Latter-day Saints is attributable to the lucrative anti-Mormon publishing industry that thrives among them. Very rarely will you meet an Evangelical who has learned anything about Mormonism from LDS sources. Instead, they rely on the false representations of such demi-gods as the serial polygamist Walter Martin, who got his "doctor of divinity" from a diploma mill. How far they have wandered from the authority of "sola scriptura!"
With its denial of the moral agency of man, Calvinism logically demands hostility toward other religions. It is not enough that God has elected the Calvinist to salvation -- it is equally important that he has damned all others. This cultivates the almost irresistible temptation for the Calvinist to join with Islam in stoning the devil -- and waging war on his followers.
Latter-day Saints do not believe that the atonement of Jesus Christ was stingily pre-calculated just to save the elect. We believe that the atonement of Christ is infinite and eternal. Moreover, rather than gloating over the damnation of others, we earnestly seek to save everyone who has ever lived on earth, holding out a strong hope that the vast majority of people will accept at least some portion of the wonderful gift that God so freely offers them. Of course that is seen as a threat to the Calvinist world view!
Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com
So I can conclude that if you don't believe Mormons are Christians you are likely to lack a college education. Hmmmm.