(The Conversation) — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are stepping up their campaigns on the brink of the 2024 elections Arizona and Nevada. Beyond being considered swing states, the two have something else in common: Latter-day Saint voters.

About 5% to 10% of Arizonans and Nevadans belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Highest percentages 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 tested this allianceespecially when it comes to many of his supporters Support for Christian nationalism.

Christian nationalism is often defined as the belief that American identity and Christianity are one. They are deeply intertwined. and therefore the U.S. government should promote Christian-based values. Using questions such as “whether being a Christian is an important part of being a true American,” a 2024 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found that nearly 4 in 10 Latter-day Saints nationwide are Christians. at least sympathetic to Christian nationalist ideasunless they are clearly “fans”. This was the third highest rate among religious groups, behind white evangelicals and Hispanic Protestants.

But the report also found an apparent contradiction. Utah, where the church is headquartered, “is the only red state where support for Christian nationalism falls below the national average.”

Like Scholar of Mormonism and nationalismI believe that the history and beliefs of the church help explain why so many members struggle with Christian nationalist ideas, and that this complexity illustrates the difficulty of defining Christian nationalism in the first place. America is sacred in Latter-day Saint doctrine: both the land itself and its constitutional structures. But as a minority that frequently encounters discrimination from other ChristiansThe church displays deep skepticism about the merging of religion and state.

sanctuary

The Book of Mormon, one of the church’s most important scriptures along with the Bible, describes America as follows: “election above all other lands” and offers an account of Jesus Christ visiting ancient civilizations there after his resurrection.

In addition, Latter-day Saint doctrine considers the government of the United States to be divinely inspired. Joseph Smith, the founder of the church in 1833, dictated a revelation God declared: “I have established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom I have trained for this purpose.”

In the 1830s, Latter-day Saints migrated from New York and Ohio to western Missouri, where they believed they were under divine command. building a holy city It is called Zion. However, they were forced to leave Missouri at the end of the decade. mob violence And governor’s orderHe called for the group to be “destroyed or banished from the State”.

Church members fled to neighboring Illinois and began the long journey west after Smith’s death in 1844. The first pioneers arrived in Utah Territory in 1847, where they established a society shaped by their faith; plural marriage. But when Utah applied for statehood, tensions with the federal government increased.

Congress came into force anti-polygamy legislation confiscated some church property, Imprisoned more than 1,000 church membersdisenfranchised anyone who supported the practice and annulled Utah’s 1870 resolution give women the right to vote.

Prison photo of polygamists in Utah, taken by Charles Roscoe Savage around 1889.
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, via Wikimedia Commons

By 1896 church leaders began the process of ending plural marriage and Utah was admitted to the union. Latter-day Saints also embraced the two-party system and abandoned their more parochial and communal systems to embrace free market capitalism. Adapting to dominant ideas what it means to be truly American.

constitutional patriots

These experiences tested Latter-day Saints’ faith in the U.S. government, especially its government. failure to intervene members were forced out of Missouri and Illinois. However, church doctrine emphasizes duty to one’s country. someone of the church 13 Articles of Faith “We believe in submitting to kings, presidents, rulers, and judges, and in obeying, honoring, and upholding the law,” he explains.

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

I argue that belief in the divine purpose and potential of the country and the close relationship between faith and patriotism can illuminate Latter-day Saint sympathy for Christian nationalist ideas. But the church’s previously strained relations with the federal government and American culture more broadly help explain why there is such a majority of Latter-day Saints. Be skeptical of Christian nationalism.

Hostility towards the church was so high and widespread throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries that if the United States declared itself a Christian nation, Latter-day Saints would likely be excluded; And about a third of Americans still Don’t see them as “Christians”.” Accordingly 2023 Pew surveyOnly 15% of Americans say they have a positive impression of Latter-day Saints, while 25% have a negative view.

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

Church members expect the biennial general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to begin on October 5, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum

A step too far

This caution also shaped Latter-day Saint culture’s tendency to avoid extremes. The modern church and its adherents are walking a delicate tightrope after being marginalized for decades by practices deemed radical. And for many, Christian nationalism and many supporters of the candidate pin your hopes – Donald Trump – seems like a step too far.

Over the past half-century, Latter-day Saints have tended to align politically and culturally with conservative Catholics and Evangelicals. All in all, the church remains deeply conservative, especially on social issues such as gender and sexuality, and 70% of its American members plain republican. But younger Latter-day Saints has much more progressive views – and the leadership even parted ways with the GOP on some issues, such as strict immigration proposals. While the church opposes “abortion on demand” allows a few exceptions.

During the 2016 elections, only about half 50 percent of church members voted for Trump; 15 percent voted for Latter-day Saint Evan McMullin, who positioned himself as the moderate choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton. Trump won in 2020 Approximately 7 out of 10 Latter-day Saint plays.

Resistant Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers during congressional hearings regarding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 Trump administration pressure He cited Latter-day Saint beliefs to commemorate the state’s voters. Bowers announced his refusal to comply with the bill, saying, “It is a tenet of my faith that the Constitution is divinely inspired.”

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (left) is sworn in with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling before testifying at the Capitol on June 21, 2022.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

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

sacred purpose

Since the Puritans, many people in the region that became the United States have believed in God’s a specific plan for their community – part of the same trend that drives Christian nationalism today.

But Latter-day Saints have a specific vision for this plan. according to teachings and scriptures of the churchThe founding of the country was a necessary step towards rebuilding “the only true and living church”: themselves. And this church is not just American, it is a global church. More than half of today’s Latter-day Saints living outside the USA.

After all, Latter-day Saint teachings view America’s story as part of a larger goal: to usher in the second coming of Jesus Christ. As the name of the church suggests, Latter-day Saints believe that they are living in the last days, that is, the last days. Thousand-year reign of Jesus – a kingdom where national and political divisions melt away.

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

(Nicholas Shrum, Religious Studies PhD Student, University of Virginia. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect the views of Religion News Service.)