Mitt Romney’s Mormon problem is back. Last weekend, at a conservative
value voters summit, pastor Robert Jeffress, a supporter of Rick Perry, called
Romney's faith a "cult" and said that evangelical voters should not
support the former Massachusetts Governor.
The media quickly jumped on the story. Most of the coverage asked whether or not
evangelicals would be willing to rally around Romney if he becomes the GOP
nominee. None of the mainstream coverage
considered whether or not Jeffress was warranted in calling Mormonism a cult
(with the exception of Bill Maher who ridiculed Mormon beliefs and called
anyone who subscribed to them “gullible”).
By no means should the media endorse the pastor’s comments. That is not their place. They do, however, have a responsibility to
ask tough questions.
A candidate’s religious preferences and specific beliefs tend to
be off-limits for many journalists.
While it’s true that the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to
believe or not believe in whatever they choose, that does not mean that voters
don’t have the right to know what their elected officials believe. The argument that these are personal, private
issues is completely ridiculous in politics.
If you believe that there is a supernatural, omnipotent deity who
oversees and can intervene in all human actions, or if you subscribe to the
idea of a master-plan for humanity or fate, you will undoubtedly make decisions
keeping these beliefs in mind. These
opinions are far too powerful and run far too deep to separate from politics or
anything else for that matter.
A Pew Research Center poll
conducted last year found that 41% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ will
return to Earth by the year 2050. According
to Christian dogma, Jesus’s return is to be preceded by a rapture, a great earthquake,
famine, and war – basically, the end of the world. It follows, then, that two-in-five Americans
believe that the end of the world, as predicted in the Book of Revelation, will
likely occur in the next 39 years. I
have the right to know if the person I’m voting for for president is one of
them.
Why is this my business?
It’s my business because anyone who truly believes this stuff is going
to govern in a way that is congruent with these beliefs. How could they not? Take Medicare and Social Security, for
example. What is the incentive for a
politician to ensure the long-term solvency of these programs if it’s all over
in 39 years? What about helping the sick
and the poor? Doesn’t matter. They just need to hang on a couple more
decades and then they will enjoy eternal happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven,
provided they are Christians.
The end of the world and the return of Christ may be extreme
examples, but they illustrate how easily these beliefs, logical or illogical,
can affect the policies of those who hold them.
Consider the following issues: stem cell research, abortion, space
exploration, publicly-funded scientific research, and Middle East foreign
policy. Christian religious beliefs can
influence all of these issues, and depending on the degree to which an
individual considers the Bible (or at least their interpretation of it) to be literal,
these beliefs can have very substantial impacts.
The public has a major interest in knowing a political candidate’s
religious beliefs. Journalists should
probe candidates for answers to these important questions. How are citizens to learn this crucial
information before casting their votes if not for the press? Furthermore, shouldn’t politicians be willing
to share these beliefs? For what would
be the motivation to conceal them unless they were embarrassingly illogical or
outside of the mainstream? Now, I am not suggesting that the press demand that
GOP candidate Jon Huntsman reveal whether or not he wears the Mormon “magic
underpants” (yes, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asks that its
members wear sacred “traditional undergarments” at all possible times). I am simply asking that the press not give
candidates a free pass to hold illogical, far-out beliefs that the public might
find to be seriously unnerving for the sole reason that they fall under the
umbrella of religion.
(Photo courtesy of mormonendowment.com)
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