Why the Mormons had a woody for prop 8.
(Apparently Lucy has some 'splainin to do.)
Everyone's wondering what the Mormon church was up to when it got members to pony up huge wads of holy cash to get prop. 8 approved in CA, which bans gay marriage.
I think it's pretty obvious, myself. It's about polygamy.
The mainstream Mormon church does not allow polygamy, but most of the splinter Mormon sects do. Mormons want more than anything to be perceived as just another Christian denomination, even though their actual theology has more in common with Scientology and Islam than it does with historical, mainline Christianity (as does their origin).
The splinter Mormons who do practice polygamy (illegally) have been waiting for gay marriage to become widely legal so they could then begin the drive to make polygamy legal. The mainline Mormons know this, and fear that if the splinters made polygamy legal, then everyone would assume that all Mormons would practice polygamy, therefore endangering their desired perception of being just another Christian denomination.
Now, they also consider homosexuality to be a sin, but it's not enough of an issue to them where it would've resulted in all the monies and effort that went into getting prop. 8 passed. (They think anyone not Mormon is going to hell anyway, particularly gays.) It's just not that important.
But, public perception is. So they didn't care if they took a national hit on being "bigoted" since it aligns with their view of homosexuality anyway. However, they don't want to look odd and be "those folks who have a bunch of teen-age brides lined up." That would cause a direct hit on their missionary work, possibly their jobs and their pocket books if they were viewed to be as loony or dangerous like Scientologists or Islamic Extremists (who also practice polygamy outside of the US). (And of course we must genuflect here to the atheist fundies who consider ANYONE religious to be loony and dangerous. Yes. We know. Leave the comments alone. Go hang with your buddies on Digg.)
Btw, the Mormons may have broken the law related to the tax exempt status of churches where they are not supposed to use the pulpit as a political soapbox, but I don't know if they crossed that line or not.
8 comments:
Interesting. Catholics in the first half of the 20th century were hyper-anticommunist, in great part out of concern for being perceived as not truly loyal Americans, but in fact lackeys of a foreign power. (There was a best-seller in the '50's by Paul Blanshard arguing just this, a copy of which was much read by Justice Black, whose paranoia about Rome taking over America is little known now. Black was the architect of the "separation of church and state" line of Supreme Court cases: he was especially convinced by Blanshardite arguments that parochial schools were meant as a first step toward indoctrinating children into disloyalty to America. But I digress.)
Anyway the LDS didn't endanger their 501(c)(3) status: the IRC prohibits endorsement of candidates, not opposition to or support for legislation.
Sorry, lost my train of thought. So by the 1950's, Catholics were heavily involved politicially wherever issues of Communism came up. The fervid anti-red paranoia disappeared not when the Soviet Union collapsed, but when JFK was elected and Catholics had nothing left to prove. I wonder if Mitt Romney had been elected, if the LDS would have felt less internal pressure to prove their mainstream status?
OHS, as usual, thank you for the elucidation.
Good question on Romney. I think non-Mormons would've been a little shocked over how extreme he would be, and the amount of (self)righteous fervor he would display during. Most Mormons are so far right that he would've made the current crop of lame duck wingnuts look centrist.
What's with the gay obsession?
This is the silliest non-issue that liberals have ever devised.
You certainly do enjoy getting yourself in a snit. What a drama queen!
This gay nonsense is the ultimate spoiled brat tantrum.
And, yes, you are just a silly person having a tantrum.
Will you give me your standard response? Let me see if I can remember: "Go fuck yourself and read something else if you don't like what I say."
When you start on this crap, you cease being a serious man. This is just foolishness. There is no human rights issue here. You're just enjoying being sanctimonious and self-righteous.
This is just masturbation, buddy. Stop it. It's not nice to beat off it public. This beating off of gays is a psychological problem. You're not fighting for some civil right. Your making a fool of yourself.
I'll go fuck myself after this comment.
People with your obsessions seem unable to live without imagining that they are fighting on the ramparts for the next great human rights issue.
So what's next? The right to shit on the sidewalk at high noon? The right to suck off dogs in front of the high school principal?
I can hardly wait for the next one. I can be certain, however, that you will work yourself up into a snit over it, and you will imagine that you are in a great battle against the forces of repression.
This seems to be a psychological necessity for you. I know a lot of people like you. Wish I didn't.
First, ST, welcome. Nice to have you in the comments. I often enjoy what you have to say.
I might surprise you here: I don't think marriage is a right, either. Never have. I think I've been consistent on that.
The fact that gays try to frame it that way just makes me wonder.
Now, I think they DO have the right to live as they want, as long as it doesn't harm others. (The ole "the right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose.") But I think this marriage issue is a non-starter.
This post was really centered on why the Mormons went after it.
It dawned on me later, Shouting Thomas, are you Mormon?
The Mormon Church funded the Proposition 8 campaign to the tune of $20M.
Whether ST is Mormon or not, he clearly believes that the church should be able to inject itself into politics and yet be immune from the usual political criticism and analysis. An odd view, that, but widely shared by Mormons today.
Joel
Post a Comment