For many Latter-day Saints, America has a special relationship with God, but Christian nationalism is a step too far

(The Conversation) – Ahead of the 2024 election, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are stepping up their campaigns in Arizona and Nevada. Besides being considered swing states, these countries have something else in common: the voters are Latter-day Saints.

About 5–10% of Arizona and Nevada residents belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—among highest percentage in the countryoutside of Utah and Idaho. For decades, the vast majority of Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, were considered reliable Republican voters. But the Trump era checked this unionespecially when it comes to many of his supporters support for Christian nationalism.

Christian nationalism is often described as the belief that American identity and Christianity deeply intertwined and therefore the US government should promote Christian values. Using questions such as “is Christianity an important part of the life of a true American,” a 2024 Institute for the Social Study of Religion poll found that about 4 in 10 Latter-day Saints nationwide are Christian. at least sympathetic to Christian nationalist ideasif not obvious “adherents”. That’s the third-highest rate among religious groups, behind white evangelicals and Hispanic Protestants.

However, the report also reveals a seeming contradiction. Utah, where the church is headquartered, “is the only red state in which support for Christian nationalism falls below the national average.”

How researcher of Mormonism and nationalismI believe that the church’s history and beliefs help explain why so many of its members struggle with Christian nationalist ideas—and that this complexity illustrates the difficulty of defining Christian nationalism in the first place. In Latter-day Saint doctrine, America is sacred: both the land itself and its constitutional structures. But as a minority who have often faced discrimination from other ChristiansThe church demonstrates deep skepticism about the combination of religion and state.

Sacred space

The Book of Mormon—one of the key scriptures of the Church, along with the Bible—describes America as “choice above all other landsand talks about Jesus Christ’s visit to ancient civilizations there after his resurrection.

Additionally, Latter-day Saint doctrine holds that the government of the United States is inspired by God. In 1833, church founder Joseph Smith dictated the revelation in which God declared: “I have established the Constitution of this country by the hands of the wise men whom I have raised up for this very purpose.”

In the 1830s, Latter-day Saints migrated from New York and Ohio to western Missouri, where they believed they were given divine command. build a holy city called Zion. However, by the end of the decade they were forced to leave Missouri. mob violence And governor’s orderwhich called for the “extermination or expulsion of the group from the state.”

Church members fled to neighboring Illinois and then began the long journey west after Smith’s death in 1844. The first pioneers reached Utah Territory in 1847, where they founded a society shaped by their beliefs, including, most famously, the practice polygamy. But when Utah applied for statehood, tensions with the federal government increased.

Congress passed legislation against polygamy seized church property, jailed more than 1,000 church membersdisenfranchised all who supported the practice and overturned the Utah decision of 1870. give women the right to vote.

By 1896, church leaders began the process of ending polygamy and Utah was admitted into the union. Latter-day Saints also adopted a two-party system and embraced free-market capitalism, abandoning their more insular and communal system— adaptation to dominant ideas about what it means to be a real American.

Constitutional Patriots

These events tested Latter-day Saints’ faith in the U.S. government—especially its failure to intervene as members were forced to leave Missouri and Illinois. However, church teaching emphasizes duty to one’s country. One of the church 13 Articles of Faith explains that “we believe in obedience to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, and in obedience, respect and support of the law.”

Latter-day Saints have a “unique responsibility to support and defend the United States Constitution and the principles of constitutionalism,” Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the church’s highest governing body, said in 2021.

I would argue that belief in the divine purpose and potential of the country, as well as the close connection between faith and patriotism, can shed light on Latter-day Saint sympathy for Christian nationalist ideas. However, the church’s previously strained relationship with the federal government and with American culture at large helps explain why most Latter-day Saints remain skeptical of Christian nationalism.

For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, hostility toward the church was so high and widespread that if the United States had declared itself a Christian nation, Latter-day Saints would likely have been expelled—and about a third of Americans still don’t consider them “Christian”” According to 2023 Pew pollonly 15% of Americans say they have a favorable impression of Latter-day Saints, while 25% report unfavorable views.

Latter-day Saint leaders believe they have the right exert a moral influence on public policy. But the church’s awareness of its precarious position in U.S. culture has made it wary of policies that value the religious freedom of some people over others.

A step too far

This wariness also shaped Latter-day Saint culture’s tendency to avoid extremes. After decades of marginalization due to practices considered radical, the modern church and its adherents have walked a delicate tightrope. And for many Christian nationalism and candidate many adherents put your hopes on – Donald Trump – this seems too far.

Over the past half-century, Latter-day Saints have tended to align themselves politically and culturally with conservative Catholics and evangelicals. Overall, the church remains quite conservative on social issues, especially gender and sexuality, and 70% of its American members skinny Republican. However, younger Latter-day Saints have much more progressive views – and even the leadership disagreed with the Republican Party on some issues, such as strict immigration proposals. Although the church opposes “elective abortion”, this allows for a few exceptions.

During the 2016 elections only about half church members voted for Trump; 15% voted for Evan McMullin, a Latter-day Saint who has positioned himself as a moderate choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton. In 2020, Trump received about 7 out of 10 Latter-day Saint votes.

During congressional hearings on the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers resisted pressure from the Trump administration to recall the state’s electors, cited his beliefs as a Latter-day Saint. “I am convinced that the Constitution is inspired by God,” Bowers said, explaining his refusal to agree to the scheme.

In June 2023, church leaders issued a statement against direct voting, saying that “voting based on ‘tradition’ without careful examination of the candidates and their positions on important issues is unacceptable.” threat to democracy“

Holy purpose

Since the time of the Puritans, many people in what would become the United States believed that God a special plan for your community – part of the same current that drives Christian nationalism today.

However, Latter-day Saints have a special vision for this plan. According to Church teaching and scripturesThe creation of the country was a necessary step towards the restoration of the “one true and living church” – their own. And this church is global, not just American. Today, more than half of all Latter-day Saints live outside the US.

Ultimately, Latter-day Saint teachings view American history as part of a greater purpose: the proclamation of the second coming of Jesus Christ. As the name of the church suggests, Latter-day Saints believe that they live in the last days, shortly before thousand year reign of Jesus – a kingdom where national and political differences are erased.

But like all churches, its members live in the moment, where political, cultural and social realities shape how they interact with the world around them—and how they vote.

(Nicholas Schram, doctoral student in religious studies, University of Virginia. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of Religion News Service.)