LDS Revelations

A Gallup poll posted online January 11 shows Mormons as the most conservative religious group in the U.S. Well duh! I could have told the them that. I wonder how much money and time they spent coming to this conclusion.

See the Gallup Poll Results here.

It is nice though to have findings that confirm what we already suspected— and what is denied so strongly by the Church. Despite assurances from LDS officials that the Church does not influence the politics of it’s members, it seems that it does just exactly that.

Whether such an effect is intentional or not is another question. Certainly over the past 30 years there has been a conservative bent amongst the hierarchy— one that seems to originated in the Benson/Skousen era. The often quoted but rarely referenced comment attributed to Benson which claims that one cannot be a “good Mormon” and Democrat a the same time has definitely permeated the culture. Liberals in the Church are the small minority and, in my opinion, viewed with a little bit of suspicion if not contempt.

Specifically I found the poll numbers about lapsed Mormons really interesting. Their political persuasions track more like the general public whereas the faithful clearly skew hard to the right.

This info leaves me wondering: Do liberal leaning people leave the Church because they feel they don’t belong there OR are those who are likely to question and leave Mormonism more often politically liberal?