The Mormon test

No doubt Mormons are dogged by their past association with polygamy, the only factoid many Americans can recall about a minority religion practiced mainly in the West. Some 34 percent of evangelical Protestants would be less likely to vote for a Mormon, due to the long-standing doctrinal rivalry between Mormonism and Protestant fundamentalism. Liberal Democrats, 41 percent of whom oppose a Mormon candidate, are the least Mormon-friendly group, probably because of the church’s social conservatism and the fact that Mormons tend to be Republicans.

Even so, why should progressives feel comfortable expressing an aversion toward Mormons, as a group, that they probably would not show toward Muslims or Catholics — despite the socially conservative preachments of many leaders of those faiths? Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico is a Mormon Democrat who won his seat with the strong support of pro-choice organizations…

Those who confess aversion to a Mormon presidential candidacy commit a basic fallacy: assuming that an individual is strictly accountable for the entire doctrine of his or her faith and that this doctrine could control his or her conduct as president.