Posted on: 8:45 pm, November 8, 2012, by Staff Writer, updated on: 08:41pm, November 8, 2012
(CNN) ? Mitt Romney?s defeat appears to close out a years-long ?Mormon moment,? a period of national fascination with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It has also provoked Mormon disappointment; Romney would have been first Latter-day Saint in the White House, culminating a decades-long process of growing Mormon acceptance and influence.
But prominent Mormons and religion experts say Mormons should be heartened that Romney?s candidacy appeared to help mainstream the relatively young faith, which was founded in 1830 in upstate New York.
?Part of the Mormon moment was curiosity and much of that curiosity has been satisfied,? said John Green, professor of political science at the University of Akron.
?There will always be people who disagree with them,? Green said, ?but the sense is that this community is part of the broad middle of American society.?
As stories about the LDS Church graced the covers of magazines and front pages of newspapers, the church?s press office was working overtime to answer questions from around the globe. A church that prefers to keep private became very public.
?Without question there has been an increase in interest in the Church over the past several years,? church spokesman Michael Purdy told CNN. ?Although there have been exceptions, this attention has given people the opportunity to know who we are and what we believe.?
It also meant more publicity for aspects of the church that many Mormons would prefer not dwell on, like the church?s onetime practice of polygamy (the church banned the practice more than 100 years ago) and its denial of the priesthood to black members until the late 1970s.
But even the uncomfortable questions were good for the church, said Richard Bushman, a Mormon scholar who has served as a local Mormon leader.
?So long as those objections and criticisms were kept under wraps, they just sort of festered there,? Bushman said. ?Getting them out in the open where people could speak candidly, that in a way clears the atmosphere.?
Coverage of Mormonism also led to some level of misinformation. One example: On the TV show ?The View,? on October 18, 2012, Whoopi Goldberg asked Ann Romney, Mitt Romney?s wife, about how she would relate to soldiers.
?As first lady, if you get the job, it?s going to entail a lot of things, and one of those things is going to be talking to the mothers whose children are coming home in bags, you know, from wars,? Goldberg said. ?Now, I know ? I believe that your religion doesn?t allow you to go fight.?
Goldberg was wrong. Mormons are actually known to enlist in the military at higher levels than others. ?No, that?s not correct,? Ann Romney told Goldberg. ?We have many, many members of our faith that are serving in armed services.?
Purdy, the church spokesman, says such exchanges were ultimately beneficial.
?A good deal of misinformation has been replaced with a more accurate picture of the Church, its doctrines, and its members across the world,? Purdy said. ?That is a good thing for all involved and we look forward to these opportunities continuing.?
But with Romney?s loss, interest in Mormonism is expected to dwindle. Joanna Brooks, a well known Mormon blogger and author says it?s only a mater of time until that interest returns.
?There have been many Mormon moments, and there will be many more to come,? she said. ?Mormonism remains a vibrant and distinctive force on the American religious landscape, and as a young religion with a new global reach, the Mormon story is still unfolding.?
The last Mormon moment, she said, was a good one: ?This is a moment in which the nation proved that it was capable of having a discussion about candidates and platforms without openly subjecting either candidate to a religious test.?
Though Romney?s faith garnered plenty of coverage ? from Time?s cover story ?The Mormon Identity,? to New York Magazine?s ?Where is the Mormonism in Mitt Romney?,? ? neither the campaigns nor outside groups made much, if any, mention of it.
Romney?s bid seemed to improve relations between Mormons and evangelical Christians, many of whom have long seen the LDS Church as a cult. In May, Romney spoke at Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell.
Weeks before the election, too, the Rev. Billy Graham met with Romney for the first time removed ?Mormonism? from a section of his website devoted to cults.
?The Billy Graham business, for me that was symbolic that evangelicals instead of just dismissing Mormonism, (they) now need to talk a little more about what they mean,? Bushman said.
According to exit polls on Tuesday, 79% of white evangelical Christians voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. That?s an even higher share of the white evangelical vote than John McCain got in 2008, when he was the Republican presidential nominee.
?From the point of view of religious tolerance and acceptance, there were some really positive trends,? Green said. ?It does suggest that the path towards greater religious tolerance has continued.?
Green raised the subject with his students after Tuesday?s election. At the end of the conversation, Green said one non-Mormon student?s comment encapsulated the strides Mormonism made in the last year.
?They aren?t any stranger,? the student joked, ?than anyone else.?
CNN?s Allison Brennan contributed to this report.
Source: http://fox2now.com/2012/11/08/romneys-loss-closes-out-mormon-moment/
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