Seeking the Promised Land

I’m just working through a timely, insightful and judicious new book: Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics.  The authors include my esteemed colleague in Political Science at BYU, J. Quin Monson (I didn’t even know about the “J”!  Almost sounds like a general authority that way…), along with David E. Campbell and John C. Green.

In the first chapter, “Meet the Mormons,” the authors argue that Mormons don’t fit in with religious traditionalists but hold highly traditional values. Indeed, Mormons challenge the paradigm of a battle between progressives and religious traditionalists across religious communities (for example: liberal versus conservative Catholics). Furthermore, Mormons are quintessentially American in origin and socioeconomic class (middle class), yet they remain a ‘peculiar’ people. In its short history, the LDS church has used four strategies for dealing with this paradox: separation, assimilation, engagement, and alignment. This book attempts to investigate the big question: Can a group be both distinctive and accepted? Is pluralism in America possible?  The authors propose that an in-depth study of Mormons in American politics can increase understanding both of how religion and politics intersect and how religious beliefs shape and influence political beliefs.

 The enthusiastic blurbs printed on the back cover seem to me well deserved.  For example:

Our former BYU Colleague, now UVU President Matt Holland: “…a momentous piece of scholarship … a must-read for anyone interested in the civic dimensions of the LDS faith…”

Terryl Givens: “…an intelligent and nuanced study … brings fresh insight to the paradox of that most American of religions, one that still occupies a marginal place in the public square.”

Highly recommended.  In later posts I will further summarize and eventually engage the fundamental argument of the book.

(With thanks for the very able assistance of Savannah Eccles.)