Seeking the Promised Land

Mormons have long had an outsized presence in American culture and politics, but they remain largely unknown to most Americans. Recent years have seen the political prominence of Mormons taken to a new level - including the presidential candidacy of Republican Mitt Romney, the prominent involvement of Mormons in the campaign for California's Proposition 8 (anti-gay marriage), and the ascendancy of Democrat Harry Reid to the position of Senate Majority Leader. This book provides the most thorough examination ever written of Mormons' place in the American political landscape - what Mormons are like politically and how non-Mormons respond to Mormon candidates. However, this is a book about more than Mormons. As a religious subculture in a pluralistic society, Mormons are a case study of how a religious group balances distinctiveness and assimilation - a question faced by all faiths.Part I. Mormons as an Ethno-Religious Group: 1. Meet the Mormons; 2. The sacred tabernacle: Mormons as an ethno-religious group; 3. A peculiar people? Mormon religious distinctiveness; Part II. Political Behavior of Mormons: 4. Mormon political views: cohesive, republican, and conservative; 5. A politically peculiar people; 6. Following the leader: Mormons' responsiveness to church leaders; Part III. The Consequences of Distinctiveness: 7. Assessing the saints: how Americans view Mormons; 8. A stained glass ceiling? Mormon candidates and presidential campaigns; 9. How Mormonism affected Mitt, how Mitt has affected Mormonism; 10. Conclusion: seeking the promised land.