WASHINGTON (ABP)—While a Mormon presidential candidate continues to occupy a prominent place in the race for the White House, a recent study has found most Americans say they know little about the practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and large majorities say their own faith is very different from the Mormon religion.
The survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, found 51 percent of Americans have little or no awareness of the precepts and practices of Mormonism, and 53 percent say they have a favorable opinion of Mormons.
The Mormon religion has gained national visibility in recent years. Founded in 1830 in New York, it now boasts 13 million members worldwide, and the church's official website lists it as the fourth- largest denomination in the United States.
But when asked to describe their impression of the Mormon religion in a single word, 27 percent of survey respondents gave negative words like “polygamy” and “bigamy.”
More than 50,000 Mormon missionaries, like the men shown here, serve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years spreading their faith.
Among the 23 percent of respondents who used positive words to describe them, “family” was the most frequent response—reflecting the church's prominent pro-family ad campaigns.
When Pew researchers further divided survey results, they found just 46 percent of white evangelical Protestants reported having a favorable impression of Mormons. Officials from the Latter-day Saints church headquarters did not respond to a request for comment on this survey.
The rise of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on the national political scene has contributed to growing awareness of the Mormon religion, especially among evangelicals, since the two groups share concerns regarding issues like gay marriage and abortion rights.
Nancy French, who maintains the website www.evangelicalsformitt.org, said she is encouraged by the 53 percent approval rating listed in the survey.
“There's a lot of people in the South who have these really deep theological issues with Mormonism, and they don't want Governor Romney teaching a Sunday school class, but they realize that we're so close on the social issues, that Mormons and evangelicals are married on these issues,” she said.
The differences in theology are distinct in theory but sometimes subtle in conversation. Latter-day Saints believe divine apostolic authority was lost after the death of the biblical apostles and then restored by Joseph Smith in the early 1800s.
Adherents say Smith received new divine revelation. Therefore, in addition to the Bible, Latter-day Saints adhere to the Book of Mormon, subtitled “Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Doctrine and Covenants,” and the Pearl of Great Price, all of which are writings from Smith and other Mormon presidents.
When it comes to salvation, Mormons believe in a “plan of salvation” that includes a “pre-mortal” state and the ability to become heavenly beings after death. The post-death state continues earthly relationships, like marriage, and temple rites can be performed for those who already have died.
Latter-day Saints also refer to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as “the Godhead,” which includes the Heavenly Father and the Son, both with glorified physical bodies, and the Holy Ghost.
They also have a doctrine of the Heavenly Mother, wife of the Heavenly Father.
Among other distinctives, Latter-day Saints abstain from alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee.
Their churches employ no full-time vocational clergy and strongly encourage one- or two-year-long mission trips for young people.
In a May conference on religion, politics and public life, Richard Bushman, a former professor at Columbia University and expert on Mormon history, discussed the relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and American politics. He also addressed a question that nags at the conscience of many evangelical voters: Are Mormons Christians?
Most modern Latter-day Saints consider themselves Christians—and as a reform group from the early 19th century, the church has historically identified itself as Christian.
But most evangelical groups do not recognize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian entity.
Rob Bowman, the manager of apologetics and interfaith evangelism at the Southern Baptist-affiliated North American Mission Board, said the issue for evangelicals is whether the Mormon Church is “a valid, authentic, faithful expression of the Christian faith,” he said.
On that question, it seems evangelicals and Mormons must agree to disagree.
“From an evangelical perspective, Mor-monism is not faithfully or soundly Christian because it deviates from historic, biblical standards of orthodox Christianity,” Bowman said, adding that “the New Testament instructs us as believers in Christ to dissociate ourselves religiously from groups that teach … doctrines that deviate in crucial ways from the apostolic message.”
According to the Pew report, one's view of whether or not Mormonism is a Christian religion has a greater impact on overall opinions of Mormons than knowing a Mormon personally.
Among non-Mormons who say Mormons are Christian, 68 percent expressed a favorable view of Mormons, twice as many as those who say Mormonism is not a Christian religion. A full 42 percent of those who said the Mormon religion is not Christian also said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon for president.
While they may not win over evangelicals, Mormons may form a bond with Protestants and Roman Catholics. The latest Pew results say 62 percent of white mainline Protestants and 59 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics say Mormons are Christians.