I don’t think even a widespread refusal to vote for Mormons would be a problem for American democracy, though, the way it might be for an Iraq. We’re just not that important, unfortunately.

But what did you think about the Shia and Sunni comparison to American Evangelicals?

2. “Evangelicals have themselves to blame for the perception that they are so anti-Mormon that they would not even consider voting for a Latter-day Saint as President.”
This is largely true, but I wouldn’t discount the degree to which leftwingers and liberals play it up. Do not expect that Mormonism will become a dead issue once the primaries are over.
Also, consider that the evangelicals who are the most anti-Mormon are not necessarily the same as those who are the most politically active. Evangelicals are not monolithic.

3. “They need to take it up with the likes of Pat Robertson and other instigators of the whole “Mormons aren’t Christian” campaign.”
You’re mixing doctrines and politics exactly in the way you decry. You and I agree that Mormons are Christians. For not very good reasons, and partly because of religious prejudice, lots of Evangelicals don’t. But that’s a theological issue, not a political one. Evangelicals for Mitt should not insist that evangelical leaders–who’ve publicly stated that they could support Mitt Romney–also embrace his as a fellow Christian.

What’s worse is that, if it is true that Evangelicals would not consider voting for Romney merely because he is LDS and not out of policy-based objections, then they are no better than the Shia and Sunnis in Iraq. Why can’t they see this? A Shiite in Iraq simply will not vote for a Sunni politician based purely on differences in religious doctrine. The Sunnis by and large, after all, do not even consider the Shia to be Muslims! Evangelicals need to realize that they are playing the same game of sectarian pettiness that currently balkanizes Iraq and that prevents any number of tin-pot pseudo-democratic dictatorships from being true democracies. We need to take the approach that the President’s sect or creed simply doesn’t matter. In America, we should be willing to elect a Muslim President, or a Methodist, a Catholic, or a Jew. Unfortunately, I could envision the day when all that is possible and yet America would still balk at a Latter-day Saint.

I never looked into it myself. If that is true, however, then people close to Romney are merely astroturfing evangelical and Catholic support for Romney.

That’s rhetorically useful but not an indication of widespread support.

To get the pulse of the Robinson folks, I make it a habit of listening to AM evangelical stations whenever I drive across the country to Salt Lake. Every day there are several vitriolic anti-Mormon messages. Whatever some intellectuals who happen to hang out with the BYU crowd say, that’s were the Robinson people really are.

I am not going to believe that evangelicals will tolerate Mitt until I see them knocking doors for Romney.

http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Religion

Do you have anything you would like to add? If so, feel free to drop me a line.