Comments on: Secularism is growing obstacle for Mormon Church

By: david e

david e — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:14:23 +0000

Churches like gov’t neutral on religion when their particular religion is in the minority in that nation and they think they might suffer from a gov that promotes an opposing religion. They like gov’t pro-religion when their religion is in the majority.

By: adamf

adamf — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:49:18 +0000

Um, why is the gov’t being ‘neutral’ to religion a bad thing? Should the not be neutral? What am I missing here?

By: Dogger Dog

Dogger Dog — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:41:13 +0000

All good points. I think the church will continue to grow, but its relevance will slip with time. Kind of like an American version of the Catholic church.

But this article makes it seem like the church is actually SEEKING an enemy, as if to suggest that they’re bored of their usual enemies.

But whatever – the Morg will always be happy to have an enemy to vilify.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:28:47 +0000

Yeah, good points all. But when I said that atheists wouldn’t make “easy opponents,” I meant that their arguments would be harder to deal with. This may be because many Mormons (well, many of the Mormons I know) are more sympathetic to atheism than evangelical Christianity. I often hear things like, “If Mormonism isn’t true, no religion is.” But maybe these sympathies will erode, as atheism/secularism is increasingly identified as a threat by the church.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:55:21 +0000

“atheists are reclaiming the debate about Mormonism away from evangelicals.”

Meh. I honestly don’t think most atheists care — atheists not in Utah, that is. I once wondered why Catholics don’t launch the same number of attacks against Mormonism that Evangelical Christians do. To a Catholic, I think the answer would be simple: Who are you guys again?

But as a student of religion, I think secular opposition is precisely what the Mormon church needs right now. It’s moving into a world tradition (according to Jan Shipps, it’s already there) and simply won’t be viewed as credible without it (to the ten of you who just about took a dump in your pants, follow me for a second). Secular opposition may, in fact, be the very bonding agent to other faiths Mormonism seems to be so earnestly seeking. I suppose I don’t need to explain the unifying power of a common enemy to a blog full of atheists, but I’m personally sold on its extraordinary power. Prop. 8 seems to validate this view. Varied religious viewpoints working together and fighting side by side. The chasm that exists between secularists and religionists on social issues is going to explode in the next ten years, and the utility of having a little brother with deep pockets won’t be lost on my evangelical friends. To be sure the “internal” opposition will never subside entirely, but the increase in secular attacks would take the conversation in a new and exciting direction. The Catholic ambassador who presented at BYU last week spoke of, among other things, religious unity and finding commonality. If this can’t be achieved via religious positioning, perhaps a good old fashioned fox hunt will do the trick.

If I’m running the Mormon church, I’m all for this one. But again, that’s just me.

By: Cherie M

Cherie M — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:07:32 +0000

Ah, the days when only the strange few “intellectualized” themselves out of the mormon church.

I honestly wonder how much of this stems from a combination of increased information about the foundations of the mormon church, easy-to-access documentation of changes in fundamental doctrine, a rise in secularism AND a trend towards more hands-off religion in terms of lifestyle commitment or affiliation with a particular religion.

As far as the tax-exempt status goes, I’m fine with it, but I’d like to see a ban on religious involvement in politics actually -enforced- instead of just given lip service. If religions wish to remain entirely out of politics I am perfectly happy to let them be tax exempt. However, if they insist on attempting to legislate their version of morality, I think they should not be able to enjoy exemption from taxes. If they think that interfering with the legal process is that important, they need to prove that by paying their share of taxes.