Will Faith Affect the Mormon Quest for the Presidency?
When Mitt Romney ran for the Republican nomination in 2008, he became the ninth Mormon to seek office and to fail. Afterward, questions arose whether his religion was a factor. Is America just not ready for a Mormon president, or are voters casting ballots for candidates based on their policies rather than their beliefs?
Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster, authors of The Mormon Quest for the Presidency, will put the current presidential campaign, and Mormon political history, into context at a talk at Utah State University Dec. 1.
Bringhurst and Foster are both prolific writers of Mormon history albeit with opposite political leanings. Bringhurst, a retired professor of history and political science at College of the Sequoias, is a liberal Democrat. Foster, a research specialist in the Latter-day Saint church’s Family History Library, is a conservative Republican. The two explored how religion shaped the political ambitions of the Mormons who have run for president from Joseph Smith to more recent bids by George Romney in 1968, Morris “Mo” Udall in 1976 and Orrin Hatch in 2000 in The Mormon Quest for the Presidency (John Whitmore Books, 2008.)
With former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. — both Mormons vying for the 2012 Republican nomination — their talk “The Mormon Quest for the Presidency: Before Romney and Huntsman” is particularly relevant.
Philip Barlow, the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at USU, will moderate the discussion.
“I think it is an important issue,” he said. “This will provide backlighting to where we’ve been before.”
Barlow directs the university’s Religious Studies Program and believes the talk will help provide a framework for understanding the role religion has played in previous candidates’ attempts to win the presidency and how it may affect the current campaign trail.
“Obviously Mormons will be interested in this, but this should be important to people whether they are religious or not,” he said. “It is part of what it means to be human and a reflection of our culture today.”
Barlow knows from experience that questions still exist for the public and the media about how being Mormon impacts the decision-making of Mormon candidates. During 2008 and 2012 campaigns, Barlow received queries from reporters from CNN, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Newsweek, among others, about Romney and his faith.
“Compared to last time, the press is somewhat more respectful, but that being said, it comes up a lot,” Barlow said. “Their interest remains keen.”
The talk is sponsored by the Religious Studies Program. It is open to the public and will be held at 4:30 p.m. in Old Main Room 115.
Related links:
Writer: Kristen Munson, (435) 797-0267, Kristen.munson@usu.edu
Contact: Philip Barlow, (435) 797-3406, Philip.Barlow@usu.edu
Philip Barlow is the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at USU. He will moderate the discussion "The Mormon Quest for the Presidency: Before Romney and Huntsman."
SHARE
TRANSLATE
Comments and questions regarding this article may be directed to the contact person listed on this page.
