Judge Ken Starr, the President of Baylor University (where I am a tenured faculty member in the philosophy department), published a thoughtful essay in yesterday’s Washington Post, “Can I Vote For a
Mormon?” It begins this way:
Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary looms large on the political horizon. In the midst of lively public debates over taxes, jobs, the national debt and similarly important questions related to the future vitality of our nation, a different kind of question continues to privately occupy the minds of some prospective voters: Can I vote for a Mormon?
This is an important question in our constitutional democracy. Without endorsing or even praising (much less criticizing) any candidate, I strongly encourage Americans who would ask this question of themselves to consider and weigh thoughtfully our nation’s constitutional traditions. At their best, those are traditions of welcoming religious forbearance.
Note: I have addressed this and similar questions in several posts and essays over the years:
- “When the Saint Goes Swearing In: Mormonism and the Romney Candidacy,” Return To Rome Blog (10 October 2011)
- “Mormonism and Natural Law,” Return To Rome Blog (19 August 2011)
- “Mormonism, Catholicism, and the Romney Candidacy,” Return to Rome Blog (10 June 2011)
- “Is it Permissible for a Christian to Vote for a Mormon?,” Christian Research Journal 30.5 (2007)
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