The Mormon threat to evangelicals
Simply put, evangelicals see the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “competition’’ for souls—and dues-paying members, said David S. Reynolds at NYTimes.com.
David S. Reynolds
NYTimes.com
Why do evangelical Christians have such a sour view of Mormons? asked David S. Reynolds. The distaste is not purely theological. Christian Scientists, Seventh-day Adventists, and dozens of other, smaller sects also have strikingly different religious views from conservative Protestants, but they are rarely condemned as “cults” and “false religions,” as Mormonism often is.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Simply put, evangelicals see the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “competition’’ for souls—and dues-paying members. Mormonism is one of the world’s fastest-growing religions; “Joseph Smith’s tireless progeny” have sent missionaries to 162 countries, and now number some 14 million people worldwide.
Evangelicals worry that a Mormon president would give a huge boost to all that aggressive proselytizing—especially a fervent one like Mitt Romney, who has tithed $4 million to the church in the last two years. But the Founding Fathers specifically set up America as a land of religious tolerance, where government would favor no sect nor oppress others. “Religious competition” has no place in our nation’s politics.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why more and more adults are reaching for soft toys
Under The Radar Does the popularity of the Squishmallow show Gen Z are 'scared to grow up'?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Viewpoint: Michael S. Teitelbaum and Jay M. Winter
feature From The New York Times: “Nearly half of all people now live in countries where women, on average, give birth to fewer than 2.1 babies...
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Snowden’s silence on Putin
feature If Edward Snowden truly is a moral paragon, then he should announce that he can no longer stomach Vladimir Putin’s oppressive behavior.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The irrelevance of the United Nations
feature Once again, the United Nations has been “rendered impotent by a small group of thugs.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Millions of closeted gay men
feature “What percent of American men are gay?”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The smug confidence of libertarians
feature Why are most libertarians white dudes?
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Seeing racism for what it is
feature Riley Cooper’s case shows just how poorly he and most other Americans understand “what a racist is.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Searching for a libertarian paradise
feature Not one of the world’s 193 sovereign states—not even a tiny one—has adopted a full-on libertarian system.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Viewpoint: Juliette Kayyem
feature From The Boston Globe: “It is now clear that the Tsarnaev brothers had no strategic plan but to kill in a very public fashion....
By The Week Staff Last updated